


Devil Beneath My Feet

by eveljerome



Series: in a time [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Anal Sex, Attempted Murder, Blow Jobs, Canon Compliant, Eventual kylux, Evil Kylo Ren, Explicit Sexual Content, Hux is So Done, Hux meets another version of himself, Hux-centric, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Part 1 in a series, Planning a Coup, Poor Hux, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Public Humiliation, Smut, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Threesome - M/M/M, Time Travel Fix-It, abuse occurs only in first two chapters, and not TLJ!Evil Ren, but its no one that important, demoted hux, ends on a cliffhanger, it will be TFA!Kylo who will be a part of kylux, they try to fix the First Order, until its really not canon compliant at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-03-20 22:11:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13727010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveljerome/pseuds/eveljerome
Summary: Post-TLJ Hux suffers at the hands of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, then gets sent back in time and meets pre-TFA Hux to fix what went wrong.~~General Armitage Hux was not a happy man.The list of issues plaguing him was this. Number one: his greatest creation, Starkiller had been destroyed by the Resistance. Number two: most of his fleet was destroyed by the Resistance. Number three: the Supreme Leader was killed by the girl scavenger with Force powers who was allied with the Resistance.You see a pattern?But what was the worst issue on his mind – and Hux had lived through enough bad things – the worst was the horror of his own co-commander, now self promoted as Supreme Leader.He should have taken the shot when he had the chance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i adore time travel fics, and i love Hux. and when there is more than one Hux? that is even better ♥️ i'm not the first one to write Hux/Hux, and probably nowhere near good enough, but i will try! there will be eventual kylux yes, but its more Hux-centric than anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost he had to meet with Captain Opan and start on surrounding himself with like-minded people – everyone who would rather have Hux leading the First Order than the immature and destructive Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to [Gefionne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gefionne/) for beta-reading this chapter ❤️
> 
> for detailed warnings for this chapter see the end notes!

General Armitage Hux was not a happy man.

The list of issues plaguing him was this: number one, his greatest creation, Starkiller, had been destroyed by the Resistance; number two, most of his fleet had been destroyed by the Resistance; number three, the Supreme Leader had been killed by the girl scavenger with Force powers who was allied with the Resistance.

You see a pattern?

But the worst issue on his mind – and Hux had lived through enough bad things – was the horror of his own co-commander, now self-proclaimed Supreme Leader.

He should have taken the shot when he had the chance.

Kylo Ren’s ascension to the title of Supreme Leader had hurt Hux—and not just his own plans, but himself personally as well. He could have written off the choking as a reaction to the death of Snoke, but the repeated humiliation on Crait set a pattern. Instead of focusing on destroying the Resistance as a whole, Ren had gone toe to toe with Luke Skywalker and lost. And to a ghost of the legendary Jedi, not even the actual man himself.

Kylo Ren in the position of the Supreme Leader could not be allowed; Hux would not stand for it.

It was time for strategic planning and immediate execution of said plans.

 

~~

 

Leaving a squad to look through everything the Resistance left on Crait, Hux returned to the Finalizer. He had left Kylo Ren there, to avoid both dealing with him and any further possible injuries.

He had observed Ren kneeling on the floor and staring at his hand, holding nothing as if he had lost something. If that something was his mind then that did not bode well for Hux, or the First Order.

Hux had a lot of work to complete before they could leave this system.

Any notion of rest was relegated to the past. Last time he had uninterrupted hours of sleep was the night before the Jakku mission. Since then it’s been work and even more work, with a few unrestful hours and stims to keep him going. He knew his tolerance well enough and knew he could last another week if he had to.

They had to salvage everything from the Supremacy, and start on repairs where possible. Hux was already putting together a schedule of meetings. He had to talk right away with everyone, from his immediate support staff to engineers. Loss of life meant promotions and reassignments, as well as an overcrowding of the less damaged star destroyers. He knew his weapons and science department was already having meetings on how to weaponize the Resistance’s reckless maneuver – making hyperspace entry and exit destructive was a novel idea. They would soon enough come up with a way to shatter enemy ships while shielding their own. Hux would have gladly joined them in this pursuit, but he had to see the entire First Order through this trying time. Talking with weapon engineers he could do later.

First and foremost he had to meet with Captain Opan and start on surrounding himself with like-minded people – everyone who would rather have Hux leading the First Order than the immature and destructive Kylo Ren.

“Sir.”

Hux was glad for having Tritt Opan on his staff for the assistance he could provide. At least there was someone he could always count on—not that it lead to trusting the man. Trust was something General Hux did not give to anyone; the only person he could trust was himself.

“Opan,” Hux greeted his Captain just as he finished sending out last of the meeting requests. “I need you to make me a list. Everyone in the Order who would rather not have Kylo Ren as the Supreme Leader.” In case someone was listening in on this conversation, Hux could make it so that he was gathering information to get rid of all possible threats to the new Supreme Leader instead of knowing who his possible allies were.

“Understood, sir.”

Hux was glad that Opan did not need any additional orders in this matter. He was perceptive and knew Hux well enough that he could infer the state of things to come.

“Dismissed.” Hux let him go, focusing back on the datapad. He had enough things to do still during this shift, which was exactly why he was so frustrated by what happened next.

Just as Captain Opan was leaving, none other than Kylo Ren stalked into the conference room.

Hux kept quiet, focusing on his datapad, waiting to see what Ren wanted. He also didn’t want to add yet another mark on his already bruised ribs and side. He really didn’t have the time to go to medical right now, especially with all those injured from the Supremacy already there.

“What do you think you are doing?”

An eyebrow raise and a look of confusion was all Hux permitted himself. It really was like dealing with a tantrum-prone child. Hux sighed and, looking straight into Ren’s eyes, asked, “What is it that I’m doing?”

“Why aren’t we going after the girl?”

Hux was wary of angering Ren, but it looked like nothing else would do. He tried to move around the issue tactically. “The Resistance’s ship was not targeted for hyperspace tracking. Our spies are on the lookout.” A pause. “If you have information as to where they are headed, do share.” A sneer wasn’t something Hux could stop himself from.

“I don’t.”

Hux was slowly stepping back, inching away from Ren. During the two sentences they’ve exchanged Ren’s fists had gone from relaxed to tightly wound. And Hux didn’t want to get hit with one.

“Well then, as soon as a sighting is reported, a squad will be sent.”

“A squad? No!” Now one of Kylo Ren’s fists was pointed right at Hux’s face. This wasn’t going as peacefully as Hux had wanted. “You will send the Finalizer and every other able ship after them!”

“Ren, be reasonable.” Hux continued looking the danger right in the face. He would not leave this room without abuse, that was for sure. “We need to salvage what we can from the Supremacy. There are missing and injured personnel that have to be found and evacuated. We don’t have time for—” Hux couldn’t finish the sentence because Ren had moved across the distance Hux had moved away from him and was not curling his hand around Hux’s throat and squeezing. Not even good enough for a Force choke this time.

Ren kept pushing Hux backwards until his back met the desk. Ren proceeded to shove him at it, tossing the datapad Hux had set on it during their conversation to the ground. Hux could hear it crash and shatter. Kylo Ren then pushed him further onto the surface of the desk, and then pushed some more. The edge of the desk was digging into his thighs; there wasn’t enough air.

“You will locate that piece of junk ship and send all forces we have to its location,” Kylo said. “You will not do anything else.” Then he let go of Hux’s throat and took a step back. “Am I understood?”

Hux wheezed and made himself stay on the desk instead of curling in on himself—or shooting Kylo Ren in the face. “Y-Yes, Supreme Leader.” He put as much loathing in the title as he could.

“Good.” Ren surveyed the mess he had made of his general before turning around and leaving.

Hux slid to the ground and sat against the side of the desk, trying to control his breathing. It was decided: Kylo Ren must be killed.

He stayed on the ground for a while, just breathing and thinking up ways to kill Kylo Ren. The most satisfying would be to skewer the asshole with his own lightsaber, just to run him through and leave him gasping in pain and betrayal. That would be the ideal scenario – up close and personal. But Hux knew that more realistically he could either blow up Ren or set up equipment to malfunction somewhere he would go. Just space him and let the corpse float away, never to be seen again.

It took a long time for his hands to stop shaking, but then Hux got back on his feet. His throat was on fire, and his breathing would just not slow. It was infuriating that Ren could reduce him to this.

The sooner he tore away Ren’s self-appointed mantle of Supreme Leader, the better.

 

~~

 

It was a meeting about a week later, with several like-minded people who also did not want Kylo Ren in a position of power, when Hux finally allowed himself to start on making up preliminary plans for the future of the Order. He would implement those as soon as he became its leader – when things would be as they should be. Hux had absolutely no regrets inmaking this coup a reality. And looking at the faces of the people attending the meeting, Hux was glad for this direction the First Order was taking.

They would prevail and soon rule over everything in reach. And after that the rest of the galaxy wasn’t that far away.

One thing did sadden Hux, that Phasma could not attend this meeting and be a part of the new First Order they were making.

While he could not call the captain his friend, she had been a powerful ally. If she were here, Hux would have made Phasma deliver the final blow to Kylo Ren. Unfortunately the horrid maneuver the Resistance had pulled had completely annihilated the entire hangar bay. Hux had left Phasma to deal with the traitor, leaving her to perish there. A damn shame.

In the meantime, the meeting was fast coming to a close, as they could not spend too much time gathering this particular contingent of people here, lest Ren come sniffing around and uncovering their plot. No, there was no other way forward. They had to carefully make a plan, and then stick to it.

They didn’t have much time; Hux didn’t have much time.

This very morning Ren had accosted him once again, but this time in public view. Hux had been on the bridge overseeing final shuttles departing what remained of the Supremacy. With that done, they could finally all regroup in the Unknown Regions, far away from the rabble intending to do them more harm. With the Finalizer acting as the new First Order headquarters, they would leave this system and the unsalvageable remains of the Supremacy behind.

Ren had wanted to know if they had tracked the Resistance down. There had been several reports, but none confirmed or from reliable sources. When Hux informed him of that, Ren had backed him to the edge of the raised platform. He had then taken another step forward, making Hux either grab a hold of Ren’s shoulders or fall below. A lieutenant there was diligently manning the communications console and trying to ignore the Supreme Leader abusing Hux. Hux had instinctively reached out a hand to stop his fall when Ren, smirking, had pushed him.

His shoulder was bruised, but he could ignore that; the twinge in his ankle was bothering him more. He wished immensely that he could shoot Ren in the face with his blaster, repeatedly. 

After his final remarks, Hux let everyone go. He had strategically walked over to the door before they were finished, testing his ankle. As every officer left, Hux held eye contact, showing them how important this was—how important they were for siding with him.

Most of the officers who had gathered didn’t surprise him, but the fact that Captain Peavey was also here did. At least it was a pleasant surprise; any officer who had served with his father usually could not hide their disdain for taking orders from Hux. But Hux could understand his decision to aid in this situation; having Ren leading the Order was untenable.

“Thank you for your dedication,” Hux muttered to Captain Peavey as he was exiting the conference room. He followed the retreating officer with a look, before noticing Opan standing at the opposite wall. Motioning him in, Hux closed and locked the conference room door.

Opan handed him a datapad showing times and dates and locations. “His schedule hasn’t changed much,” Opan said. “The best time is still between gamma and delta shifts, as he returns from the training facilities.”

“Having crushed even more walls I bet,” Hux said, scrolling through Opan’s surveillance of Ren. “The lowest deck training area is always deserted at that time, good.” He nodded before deleting the entire file. No need to keep proof of spying. “Dispose of this.”

“Yes, sir.”

Having handed the datapad back to Opan, Hux straightened his spine and put both hands behind his back. It was time.

“The plan is set. I thank you in advance.”

Opan was taking a considerable risk executing the plan itself: putting enough charges in the lower deck near the training rooms to blow a hole in the hull. It would take days of repair after, but it was worth it if it disposed of the greatest risk to the First Order.

Hux wasn’t worried about the rest of the Finalizer; he would implement safety measures before the plan was set in motion. He would seal the blast doors and then watch as everything in the hallway was sent out into the vacuum of space; it was allsomething that could be done from a datapad.

“Sir.” Opan saluted Hux before leaving.

The plan would be executed tomorrow. There was no need to delay it any further. Every piece was in play and Hux could already envision his promotion to grand marshal. Perhaps it was bad luck celebrating early, but he could not help himself.

 

~~

Everything came to an end just as delta shift had started.

Hux had finally retreated to his quarters, having finished with the daily tasks. They were now safely in the Unknown Regions, waiting for every ship in their fleet to arrive. He had planned to have several hours devoted to sleep because he knew tomorrow night would be too busy.

He had just stepped out of his ‘fresher, clad in a regulation short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and was moving toward the bed when the door to his quarters crashed open. He could hear Ren’s lightsaber from his bedroom and felt panic trickle down his spine, his arms going numb and his head buzzing.

He was found out. Nothing else could have enraged Ren this much.

Ren didn’t waste time on talking; he moved fast—faster than seemed possible—toward Hux, and stabbed the lightsaber through his shoulder, pinning Hux to the wall like an insect. Ren was growling at him, eyes blazing in anger.

Hux could not talk—he felt the Force slowly constricting his throat—but once he saw Captain Peavey standing at the ruined door of his quarters, all he could do was try and get to him. He wanted to rip him to pieces if it was the last thing he did.

“Traitor!” he shouted with all the breath he possessed.

Captain Peavey was just standing there and smirking, glad for his betrayal of Hux. “Oh no, it is you who is a traitor.”

Hux kept trying to break out of the hold Ren had on him. He wasn’t even registering the pain in his shoulder anymore. Hux’s rage was flooding his system with enough adrenaline that he wasn’t even afraid of Ren killing him right there.

“Oh no, you will not be killed, Hux.” At hearing his name, Hux finally looked back at Ren. He was smirking as well, but much more menacingly than Peavey ever could. It was a smirk that should be feared.

“Something far worse than death is planned for you. Death would be too easy. But humiliation is much worse. Especially for someone like you.”

Hux just snarled at Ren, trying to aggravate the shoulder injury on purpose. If Ren would not kill him, he would do it himself. But before he could move much, Ren put his other hand on his forehead, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> detailed trigger warnings for chapter one:  
> abuse and violence, as it was shown in The Last Jedi between Kylo Ren and Hux, and even more escalated;  
> planning of murder and Hux semi-graphically fantasizes killing Kylo Ren;  
> several mentions of injuries sustained by Hux;  
> one sentence long failed attempt at a suicide.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux woke up, which in itself was disappointing given his last memories before blacking out. He had also woken up fuzzy and drugged up, which meant that he was in medical. Nothing was hurting, so he was on the very good drugs. Perhaps Supreme Asshole Ren had ordered them to even apply bacta. After the Crait disaster they were low on everything and bacta was supposed to go to most critical cases. 
> 
> Leave it to Ren to fix him up before knocking him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to [Gefionne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gefionne/) for beta-reading this ❤️
> 
> this is the other chapter with Supreme Leader Ren who is a horrible horrible being. but rejoice, for we will see him no more after this chapter! things now will turn towards more pleasant fluff.  
> that said, please be aware that this is a heavy chapter. 
> 
> chapter specific warnings at the end notes.

Hux woke up, which in itself was disappointing given his last memories before blacking out. He had also woken up fuzzy and drugged up, which meant that he was in medical. Nothing was hurting, so he was on the very good drugs. Perhaps Supreme Asshole Ren had ordered them to even apply bacta. After the Crait disaster they were low on everything and bacta was supposed to go to most critical cases. Leave it to Ren to fix him up before knocking him down.

He really did not want to open his eyes. Hux knew that Ren was somewhere near, probably smirking and ready choke him some more.

Something was tossed onto him. The fuzzy feeling was slowly receding, letting Hux feel more aware. Finally opening his eyes, it took him a while to focus completely on his surroundings. It was definitely medical; he was even spared from being housed with every other patient. But no medic or droid was hovering near—just Ren, and what he had tossed at Hux.

Refocusing on the blanket covering him, Hux finally saw what it was: a collar.

A fucking collar—definitely for something canine, or bigger. It was wide and thick, fashioned of black leather with metal decorations and a D-ring for a leash.

Hux squeezed his eyes closed, not wishing to be a part of this reality. This was not how his week was supposed to go. He was supposed to become the new leader of the First Order, and Ren was supposed to rot in an unmarked grave, or be torn to bits, or be vaporized in space. Anything would be nice.

Suddenly, a hand touched his forehead. Hux instinctively opened his eyes to see what else it would do. Not a second later he felt the Force surround him, and then seep into him. He could not describe it any other way. The Force was getting inside, penetrating his skin and setting in his bones, traveling upwards to his heart and head.

Hux was starting to panic, and the medical panel above him started beeping in alert, in sync with his heartbeat.

Ren just waved his other hand and the panel cracked, going dim and broken. The hand on Hux’s head was gentle—and it was horrible. 

Hux tried to push the hand away, but discovered that he could not lift his hands. A glance down revealed that he was tethered to the bed, helpless at the mercy of a merciless being.

The pressure of the Force increased and Hux acutely felt Ren rooting around in his head, probably looking for backup plans and associates, everyone who would have helped in the coup. He sought images of the meetings, of Opan presenting his surveillance results, of Hux thanking Peavey for his dedication. The last one brought the smirk back to Ren’s face.

He knew it wouldn’t end well, but it was the only thing left to him.

Hux spit in Ren’s face. Enraging Ren even more was a shitty idea, but at least it brought him some satisfaction.

“Do not ever do that again,” said Ren. “You don’t want me to add a muzzle to your new rank do you?” He took a step back, taking a sanitary wipe from a nearby shelf to clean up his face. He had pointed toward the collar as he said _rank _.__

__Hux stared in disbelief. “No” was all he could gasp out. This was not happening._ _

__“Oh, yes, this is happening. Your little stunt will have repercussions. No more General Armitage Hux.” Ren tossed the sanitary wipe in the trash and again approached the bed. He picked up the collar and was now opening it up. “From now on its going to be Very Personal Assistant Huxy.”_ _

__Taking another step closer, Ren grabbed onto Hux’s hair and pulled his head up from the pillow, putting the collar around his neck. Just as Hux was ready to spit at him again, Ren pushed at him with the Force, making him choke on the spit. As Hux coughed to get his airway clear, the collar was buckled closed and the D-ring turned toward the front._ _

__“Your new rank will be announced today, just as everyone is gathering for lunch after beta shift. I think it will amuse them greatly,” Ren said, pulling a bit on the D-ring to make Hux really feel the collar—cementing it as his new reality. “I think I could also start a contest for them. Huxy Hunting. Every time you even think of leaving my side and escaping, the one to bring you back would get a personal favour from me in reward.” Smugness from Ren was rolling in waves, and Hux just wanted to bash in his face to see him choke on his own brain matter._ _

__“Fuck you.”_ _

__Ren scrunched up his nose. “I would rather not. Who knows how many have you fucked to get that position of general.”_ _

__A datapad notification beeped, interrupting what would probably be even more abuse heaped onto Hux. Ren looked at the message before swiping it away. “Important business to attend to. Construction to oversee. Your current task is to stay here and get that shoulder back to functioning.” Ren quickly looked over Hux before leaving. The look promised nothing good if Hux should attempt to escape right away._ _

__

__~~_ _

__

__Soon after Ren left, Hux fell back into sleep. He had nightmares of black shapes and tendrils coiling around him, squeezing out his life and breath. There were flickers of red just out of the corners of his eyes, not giving him a reprieve. If he could only reach that red he would be free: no more pain and agony and Ren._ _

__Hux woke with a gasp. He was still in medical, still in the damn collar and tied to the bed. A droid was hovering near, two others were replacing the medical panel above him that Ren had broken._ _

__“Release me,” he ordered the droid._ _

__All he got in reply was a negative beep and the droid floating away. Hux looked up just as the medical panel lit back up. Where before it said General A. Hux, followed by his ID number, it was now just Assistant Huxy._ _

__Hux wanted to rip that panel to shreds. He tried to pull his hands out of the restraints, but only aggravated his shoulder. He spent a minute gasping in pain. It seemed that the good drugs had run out._ _

__Soon after, the attending droid came back to see what Hux had done to himself. The medical panel was flashing a warning, but Hux didn’t want to look up at it. The droid floated up, dismissing the warning, then tapping something else on the screen. Soon after that, the fuzzy feeling was coming back and Hux could relax—as much as one could in a medical bed._ _

__He was staring at the overhead lights, trying to assess his situation. It was shit; that was the final consensus. His plan had gone to shit. The current situation was shit, his ability to get away from the same situation was shit. Ren was a shit._ _

__He could do nothing right now. Even if he could rip out of the restraints and avoid the droids, who knew what time it was. If Huxy Hunting (what a detestable title) was already announced, he would be incredibly lucky to get to the closest hangar bay and get a ship away from here. Fighting Ren wasn’t an option. It was escape, or death. But he did not want to die._ _

__And how far he would get while injured? Not very, he was guessing. No, he would stay and see what the situation was once he got out of medical. He would go through his options available then. Thinking of the nebulous ‘then’ brought back Ren’s comment of ‘construction.’ What the hell was he constructing?_ _

__Hux blanched, remembering the place where Ren had declared himself Supreme Leader. Ren was building a throne room._ _

__The collar around his neck suddenly felt even tighter._ _

__

__~~_ _

__

__Hux’s new reality was this: he got a room to himself adjacent to the new throne room, where he would spend most of his days serving Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, kneeling or sitting on the ground by his new throne as amusement. Assistant was the wrong word for this position._ _

__Hux kept wondering why Ren did not just name him Very Personal Amusement Huxy; it would be far more accurate. He was also serving as a punching bag whenever the mood struck Ren._ _

__To make the humiliation public to everyone in the First Order, all meetings with the Supreme Leader were now held in the throne room instead of the private conference rooms. Each visitor would have to check in first with Hux, who would then announce them to Ren._ _

__That would be bearable if he were in his uniform, but he was not. Upon leaving medical, he had been presented with what Ren called his new ‘uniform:’ a pair of gym shorts with the First Order symbol on their side. It was humiliating, and Hux hated Kylo even more every day; he had had no idea before that a person could hate someone this much. Even his hatred for the Resistance wasn’t this great._ _

__Hux was cold. Even a full night’s sleep under two blankets did not help any. Every morning he would wake in dread of a new day spent catering to Ren’s brand of insane._ _

__The collar wasn’t helping matters, especially after Ren had had a bad day of frustrating meetings. He would leave Hux with new bruises, and then everyone would leer the next day while visiting with the Supreme Leader._ _

__He was also getting more and more tired of the name Huxy – not only was Ren saying it with immense scorn, also everyone attending meetings had bigger smirks with every repeat of it. In his head he had started to refer to himself as Armitage to escape it._ _

__His only relief came when Ren could no longer take having him near. Then he would task Armitage with going assist the navigators. They had survived the destruction of the _Supremacy_ and were now doing the same navigating as before. His assistance was useless here; they did not require his help in any way. He could only stand quietly near them and observe. He did not know if their mystical force was the Force, or something completely different, and doubted they would or could answer._ _

__Being near them was at least peaceful and across the room from the throne. Armitage had not had a chance to leave the room since he first got there. Ren had new praetorian guards installed, though Armitage didn’t know if they were stormtroopers elevated to a new position or hired from wherever Snoke had acquired the previous ones. In any case, they did not talk with Armitage and barred his exit from the room with sharp enough knives that his first escape attempt ended just as it started: with Armitage’s blood on the ground._ _

__With time he got better at parsing the navigators’ demeanor. They weren’t so droid-like after all. Armitage would notice the one’s exasperation and frustration with rebuilding the Oculus lost on the _Supremacy_ , and even anger at the Supreme Leader when he would ask them to find the girl._ _

__Armitage knew they originated somewhere in the Unknown Regions and had been the ones to guide the Imperial loyalists safely there. Without them, the refugees would have crashed into celestial objects and encountered other perils found there. They were invaluable in navigating the hyperspace trails, and yet Ren was asking them to find a single person._ _

__

__~~_ _

__

__It was a day like any other when the most incredible event in Armitage’s life happened. It was not a day he would ever have expected a year ago, when he was still dreaming of crushing the Republic with his soon-to-be-finished super-weapon. Then, Kylo Ren had been an infrequent irritant on the _Finalizer_ , mostly staying away on missions as he looked for Luke Skywalker._ _

__It had been three months since the destruction of Starkiller, and they had been the worst three months of Armitage’s life. He would gladly sell his soul to get to kill the person making them so horrible._ _

__He had made a total of seven tries at escaping the hell that was Ren’s throne room, all with varying degrees of success. The closest he got to getting away from the _Finalizer_ was yesterday. He got as far as the aft TIE fighter bay. There he finally got a glimpse the stars glittering in the deep space. Hux was almost free; taking a TIE and leaving as fast as possible was doable. They were back in Outer Rim, not that far from a number of inhabited planets slated to be taken over by the First Order._ _

__Instead of leaving, he woke this morning with a brutal headache. Someone had smashed him headfirst into the wall by the hangar door. At least he was back in his quarters._ _

__The Resistance still hadn’t been found. They were lying low, gathering new recruits ready to put an end to the First Order. Ren had been all excited up until a month ago, when he started talking aloud to thin air. They scavenger girl, Rey, was finally in contact. Ren had immediately sent Armitage away to the navigators, not wanting him to listen in on his pining._ _

__Even from afar Armitage had seen that the talk wasn’t going well, and five minutes later Ren had pulled out his lightsaber and snarl on his way out. He could hear him hack away at a hallway leading up to the throne room. Whatever the girl had said to set him off, Armitage tried to stay as far away as possible; but his bad luck caught up to him soon enough. He had woken up two days later in medical with a broken collarbone._ _

__This morning, despite his escape attempt the day before, was deceptively peaceful – Ren viewed his attempts with certain amusement; never being concerned that Armitage would actually manage to escape. Ren had been quiet all week long, contemplating something. Armitage knew well that his patience with whatever was occupying his thoughts would eventually run out and the resulting explosion would knock him off his feet._ _

__After a morning meeting, Ren sent him away to aid the navigators. They were giggling at something, as far as Armitage could read into their demeanor. The Oculus, an updated version from the one housed aboard the _Supremacy_ , was finished, and they were now looking at something that amused them._ _

__Hux did not know what it was, and didn’t even try to ask. He frequently just sensed their mood and then let that mood take him over as well. It had been a long time since he had had cause to feel jovial. Hux did not remember ever having giggled in his life._ _

__Not two hours had gone by when Ren showed up to the niavigator’s work station in a foul mood._ _

__“At ease, Huxy,” Ren said, not taking his eyes off the Oculus. “There is absolutely no need to feel so giddy. You don’t even comprehend what they are celebrating.” The smug look was downright filthy on Ren’s face._ _

__“Which is?” His servitude in no way had taught Armitage to shut his mouth, even though there were moments where keeping quiet would have spared him. But his sharp words were the only defense left to him, and he used it._ _

__“They will find Rey for me. Finally.” There was anger in his voice; Armitage felt the Force surrounding Ren tremble and shiver. Living each day this close to Ren had taught him much about Force, both how destructive and all-encompassing it was, and how to defend one’s mind against it. Ren had had to put in more and more effort each day to assault Hux’s mind._ _

__“Hmm.” Armitage tried not to encourage Ren to start talking of Rey too often. After that disastrous conversation a month ago, Ren got a bad glint in his eye whenever the Resistance was mentioned in reports, and he would start ranting about how she was missing so many opportunities by not being at his side._ _

__“You don’t think they will find her?”_ _

__Armitage shrugged, looking between Ren’s mounting anger and how the navigators had lost their giddiness. They were now cautious, perhaps even a little concerned._ _

__Ren had not ever attacked them directly, but he had verbally threatened them enough times. There was a first time for everything, though, and Ren liked to express his anger immediately. There was no calming down him, just perhaps putting a different target in his path._ _

__“You will find her for me,” Ren repeated, stepping closer to the Oculus. The navigators were still just looking at him, going from concerned to angry themselves. Armitage understood very well that this was beneath them, but they would do it, if only for the challenge._ _

__Ren had stopped near the edge of the slightly raised platform upon which the Oculus was standing. The navigators stood there, too, along with Armitage at the side. He noticed Ren switch his gaze from one navigator to the other, as if choosing targets._ _

__Without much thought, Armitage rushed forward, just as Ren was raising his hand. The Force choke intended for one of the navigators was redirected to Armitage. Ren, seeing Hux taking the attack, seethed and pushed him to the ground._ _

__“You will do what I order you to do! I want results. Today!” Leaving him gasping for breath on the platform, Ren spun around and left the throne room altogether._ _

__“Fuck,” Armitage cursed, before slowly getting to his feet. “He is a menace. This is not how the First Order was supposed to be.” He stood up, deciding he could take a short nap. Ren would likely take his frustrations out on the training rooms; it gave him enough alone time until afternoon meetings for sleep._ _

__Before leaving, Armitage looked over the Oculus. It was fine; Ren hadn’t damaged anything, and the navigators were all right as well. Except _puzzled-grateful-intrigued-thankful_. He blinked to make sure he was reading their demeanor correctly. Right; he realized he did keep them from harm. “Err. It is fine. He should not turn his anger to you. You are already doing much more than required.”_ _

__He did not even take a step backwards when they moved toward him. Freezing in place, Armitage cautiously looked up to see what they would do. This was the first time they were actively reacting to him, so he let them approach him._ _

__He definitely did not expect them touch him and make him black out from that, nor did he expect to wake up lying in a snow bank right outside the command center of Starkiller base._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> detailed trigger warnings for chapter two:  
> abuse and violence from Ren toward Hux;  
> degrading and dehumanization - Ren puts a collar on Hux;  
> public humiliation and basically slave!Hux;  
> disregard for Hux's emotional state - Ren is almost amused by the abuse he inflicts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The words “Try again.” echoed. Armitage gasped, putting a hand to his forehead, trying not to wince, still looking up at the sudden appearance of Starkiller base. The echoes weren’t helping his headache any. He could only stare ahead letting his gaze roam the impossible in front of him. 
> 
> Starkiller base had been destroyed three months ago. He knew that for a fact. This fact had given him sleepless nights, abuse to last a lifetime and a hurt so deep he wished to stop feeling things altogether.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is the new timeline - we move away from abuse, violence and angst, and towards fluff and hugs. please note the added tags! the kylux in this fic will be with the Kylo of pre-TFA, where he isn't a complete monster (irritating co-commander more like).
> 
> enjoy <3
> 
> p.s. i wrote this with a nasty headache, so if you spot some horrid sentence structures or grammar pls either ignore them or tell me about them in the comments, i'll be glad to fix them
> 
> no chapter specific warnings apply.

The words “Try again.” echoed. Armitage gasped, putting a hand to his forehead, trying not to wince, still looking up at the sudden appearance of Starkiller base. The echoes weren’t helping his headache any. He could only stare ahead letting his gaze roam the impossible in front of him. 

Starkiller base had been destroyed three months ago. He knew that for a fact. This fact had given him sleepless nights, abuse to last a lifetime and a hurt so deep he wished to stop feeling things altogether.

So exactly _how_ was he lying in a pile of snow not a hundred feet away from something that was turned into cosmic dust?

Before tackling the impossible, Armitage took stock of himself. He wasn’t cold anymore. He had lived with the uncomfortable cold for so long that it felt weird not to be shivering. Sure, there was snow everywhere, surrounding him and falling in fat flakes on him. Armitage let his hand creep upwards, slowly touching what he was wearing: heavy winter gear, typical when venturing into forests surrounding Starkiller base. What he had beneath it was familiar; it felt a lot like his general’s uniform. It was exceedingly starting because just a moment ago he was half naked in Amusement Huxy’s gym shorts. 

What the hell was going on? The mystery of clothes was interesting, but still not as much as his sudden relocation to Starkiller. Was he dead—or dreaming? Was this how the navigators were saying thanks: by giving him an illusion of warmth and things he still hasn’t properly mourned?

The ground felt real, and so did the snow still falling on him. 

The sudden beep of an incoming message startled him badly. Almost three months without a datapad made him flinch upon hearing the sound; it had been so very familiar in his line of work, but now the little beep sounded like an attack. 

Armitage finally got to his feet, not even bothering to clear the snow off himself where it clung to his pants and warm coat. He got the datapad out of its designated pocket to view the message; was it perhaps from the navigators telling him he was actually dead and this was some sort of afterlife?

The message was from engineering department instead; notifying him about an issue with the oscillator. _The scheduled test would have to be pushed ahead, it would not be safe to run it now._ Armitage remembered this message well – he remembered getting angry that Starkiller was this close to being fully operational but some sort of shit issue made him reschedule the firing. He remembered having a too long and exhausting meeting with the engineers, working through the delta and gamma shift to aid them. Solution was found and enacted. It still put the firing off by— 

So.

It was now eleven days before Starkiller base will destroy the Hosnian system. Eleven days before his life turned to shit. 

“Try again.” Armitage said to himself; he will.

 

~~

 

Armitage walked briskly to the closest entrance to the base. He was actively ignoring the fact that somehow he had traveled back in time; he could deal with that realization sometime later. He was in his uniform, with access to everything and looking harried. Nobody should even dare stop him. The troopers near the entrance saluted before resuming their stance. Armitage smirked. It felt good to be back to his old self. 

Speaking of his old self—there he was, walking down a corridor, on his way to engineering.

“General.” Armitage stopped in Hux’s way. Hux was in for a surprise; Armitage was gleefully waiting to see the look in his face, it was bound to be satisfying. 

The decision to work together with his counterpart was easy: the only person he could trust was himself. He just never knew it could be taken so literally. Sure, he could have killed Hux and taken his place, but why not double his chances?

Hux dismissed a notification with a flick of his hand before looking up. He had been about to tell the officer interrupting him that he didn’t have time right now—the dismissal ready upon his lips—when Hux finally looked at who stopped him. He froze—mouth slack, eyes wide and speechless—in evident disbelief. Nothing was making sense; Hux knew perfectly well that he didn’t have any clones secreted away, nor any siblings. 

He let his gaze flicker from the nose to eyes to chin, seeing himself; the hair was just a smidge longer, there were new scars, one trailing upwards from neck to ear ending somewhere in the hairline. The undeniably wild look in the eyes was the greatest difference between the two.

Taking an educated guess, Hux bowed his head shallowly in greeting, “General.” Whatever the cause for this happening, there was another him standing right in front of him.

“Please call me Armitage.” 

 

~~

 

Before anyone could see double, Hux led them both to an empty office. Once inside, Armitage put the datapad on a desk before shedding the winter coat next to it. He quickly undid the top two buttons of the regulation tunic, freeing his neck from constriction. That horrid collar was like a ghost around his neck still. He let his hand stay close to his neck—just breathing calmly—letting his mind know that everything was fine now.

Hux was observing him from across the room, cataloging all the minor differences. The longer he looked, the more he saw. He already had a theory about what happened, but it was always better to verify with the source itself. “How far ahead are you from?”

“Three months.” Armitage replied, letting go of his neck and leaving the tunic collar open. “We have eleven days to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to you.”

“Hmm.” Hux let his gaze flicker to the datapad on the desk, before tilting his head to the side. He could ask why there were now two identical copies of his datapad, but did not want to encounter a paradox. Better not to think about it now; after the eleven days were over, then he could find out absolutely everything about time travel. “Before we get on that, you need a valid identity.”

Armitage wished to _get on with it_ immediately—no time to waste on procedure—the sooner Ren is stopped in his path to becoming Supreme Leader the better. He had to strongly remind himself that Ren here wasn’t the monster of his own timeline; it did nothing to stop his heart to start beating faster. Better to avoid the menace and focus on damage the Resistance was about to do them. 

He sighed before crossing his arms; the wish to go and do things right away was exceedingly strong, but he understood that two of them could not be in public together without absolutely confusing everyone. “Fine.”

“It not like you—or me rather—to be so impatient. Then again—” Hux trailed away, going quiet as soon as he looked up. Something very bad had happened to Armitage, that was frighteningly clear. He told himself not to fuck this up. Somehow he got a second chance at something coming up in near future, he could not waste it. Since the single most important moment of his life was just days from now, he should heed the sudden appearance of his future-self and do everything as recommended. Whatever events that had gone disastrously wrong in Armitage’s timeline – Hux will not allow that future to repeat itself.

 

~~

 

General Hux now had a brother. He was backdated far enough and away enough that even Snoke should not find it off. Officer Armitage was just recently transferred from Map Corps, doing survey work in the Unknown Regions and back to civilization, as of today appointed to _The Finalizer_. He would serve as a consultant with engineering. Since it was actually was his own primary education, Hux knew Armitage could pull this off without any issue. To justify this appointment Hux cited the new issue with Starkiller. Thus Armitage would be primarily tasked with bringing Starkiller online and ready for its inevitable firing. 

Since Maps Corps was renowned for making people unhinged therefore absolutely nobody would be surprised that officer Armitage was so unlike his uptight general brother. Armitage requisitioned a warm-but-loose uniform for himself; being a consultant would let him avoid the chain of command. It would be ready by morning.

Hux set him up with quarters not that far from his own, but Armitage was rather hopeful he could bunk with Hux this evening and all the rest too. Those who have ever claimed they would never sleep with their own clone or a time-traveling version of themselves are lying liars who lie.

Right now Armitage and Hux were in a planning meeting. The engineers working on the issue with Starkiller were on their own until Armitage would join them next morning. For convenience’s sake and his wish for comfort Armitage insisted they hold the meeting in Hux’s quarters. Therefore he was now lounging on the ice blue couch, recalling numerous past evenings having curled up on it in just a robe; spending time on a datapad going over daily reports. Hux had sat down across from him; with a glass of alcohol in his hand—sipping away his worry about Starkiller base.

“FN-2187. He is the first issue to tackle.” Armitage motions to Hux’s datapad; to call up the Traitor’s profile before taking a deep breath and just spilling everything out. “The last fragment leading to Luke Skywalker is on Jakku. There’s also a Force-sensitive scavenger girl, Rey there. She and Kylo Ren should not get to meet. The Resistance is in D’Qar system right now. Ren claimed that is was Rey who killed Snoke, but I seriously doubt that. As soon as Hosnian System was destroyed the Resistance sent their forces to Starkiller; they somehow got through the shields and bombed the oscillator. Luke Skywalker would not get involved in any of this shit—would not ever be aware its happening—if the map leading to him was destroy—”

“Stop. Slow down.” Hux interrupted, leaning forwards and lifting up a hand to placate Armitage. “One issue at a time.” He sighed, before slumping back in the chair; then rubbed his forehead trying to calm the blossoming headache. “This is a right mess, this is.”

“No shit.” Armitage hummed, letting his hands circle his own shoulders; giving himself a hug. Hux, still across from him, noted the action before standing up and crossing the distance between them; sitting down right next to Armitage. “Hey.”

Armitage did not hesitate and leaned into Hux. The familiarity was not stressing him; finally he could sigh and start on letting go of every hurt and frustration the three months under rule of Ren caused him. It would be nowhere near easy, but at least it was a start. “Hey yourself, hey—myself.” Armitage could not stop the giggle from escaping. It was so surreal; sitting on your own couch, right next to yourself. 

Both of them just sat there—leaning into each other—for a very long time. It was warm and comfortable. Hux could finally take a well deserved break; and Armitage could regain some of the warmth and humanity he had lost. It was time well spent. 

The datapad beeped with an incoming message, but with delta shift quickly coming to an end, Hux suppressed his instinct to check it right away and leave it for tomorrow. It was hard; he never had someone to share an evening with – aside from shore leave escapades in anonymous port cities, Hux’s life had consisted only of work, work and more work. But now—the feeling of warmth seeping into his side, the softness of hair tickling his cheek, the familiar breath next to him—it was extremely important he does not spend more time without these things.

They both ended up in the same bed when gamma shift started; just basking in each others warmth. For Armitage sleep came much more easy with another person sharing the bed. Hux could not find rest that easy, thoughts milling about his head. He took this time to process everything Armitage had shared with him, even if it was just bare bones. His demeanor and warmth seeking, the flinches and scars told Hux a horror story he wished on nobody. Hux knew that he wasn’t a warm or an affectionate man, but Armitage was someone he could never begrudge these things. 

Just as Hux was ready to finally succumb to sleep, he felt Armitage twitch in his sleep. A low keen and infrequent flinches where they both were touching made Hux extremely angry—but not at Armitage, no—at the monster who did this to him. Hux started with slow rubbing across the shoulders, creeping towards a full body hug; muttering comforting nonsense in a low voice. Eventually Armitage’s breath evened out. 

Hux swore to himself: to never let Armitage experience another ounce of suffering.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If felt almost like a dream to wake up warm and comfortable. And not in significant pain. No collar around his neck and he can breathe easily. Three months wasn’t a long time, but if that time was filled with horrible things; it felt like an eternity. And it had left more marks on him than what was on the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got sick at the last day of the book expo and that got this chapter delayed by almost a week. i'm sad about it too. but now i'm somewhat better and we can get back to a quicker update schedule yayy!
> 
> thank you everyone who commented, who left kudos <3 i love you guys, and i love seeing that actual alive people have clicked on this and read it THANK YOU
> 
> chapter specific warnings in the end notes

If felt almost like a dream to wake up warm and comfortable. And not in significant pain. No collar around his neck and he can breathe easily. Three months wasn’t a long time, but if that time was filled with horrible things; it felt like an eternity. And it had left more marks on him than what was on the surface. 

He reached up, let his hand trace the scar running from his hairline past his neck to his shoulder. Armitage supposed that if he went to the med bay they would fix it up. Bacta wasn’t running out, half the fleet wasn’t destroyed. 

Letting his hand return where it lay across Hux, Armitage sighed happily, nuzzling the man still sleeping. The feeling of contentedness was lovely, and something he had been missing for most of his life. Being here, with someone he can truly trust was life-altering. They both had many tasks ahead, but they had enough time to enjoy a quiet morning. 

Armitage sat up in bed—wanting to look at his companion still sleeping. Hux was softly snorting in his dreams. He could just smile at that and lean forwards; with the sole intention to touch Hux. He was right _there_. Himself, but such a different version. Armitage was counting the seconds before Hux woke up. Until then he was tracing every bit of skin in his reach. It was soft and warm. Not hardened in misery and hurt. This version was almost naive, inexperienced under the hurt the world would heap on them. 

Armitage almost wanted to corrupt that naivety, so he wouldn’t be the only broken Hux here. But there was no reason for that. He would help Hux and together they will bring glory to the First Order.

He was touching Hux’s lower lip—running his fingers back and forth—when the eyes fluttered open and that blue-green gaze was upon him. A tongue came forwards to lick the fingers, before taking them into the mouth. Armitage took in a sharp breath. He knew he wanted Hux, but to have those feelings reciprocated? That was lovely; and so arousing.

“Morning.” He breathed out, smiling. Hux bit lightly at the fingers in response, before leaning back and stretching. Armitage could only try and look over at all the unblemished skin, to make himself familiar with it once again. 

“Morning to you as well. How are you feeling this morning?” The light frown on Hux’s face was enough of a clue.

“Ah—good. I had a nightmare during night? Did I wake you?” Armitage asked, shuffling forwards a bit, and lying back down, sharing Hux’s pillow; keeping the eye contact.

“I wasn’t asleep.” Hux reached over and put a hand over Armitage, gathering him closer. His alarm haven’t yet sounded; they still had time before getting up. “Just say the word and I will kill the one who hurt you this much.” 

Armitage snorted, “Thanks.” He relaxed in Hux’s hold, burying his face in the pillow. Ginger hair was tickling his face. “Unfortunately with timelines as they are—its rather impossible because nothing of that hasn’t happened yet. But there is someone else I want to kill myself. I hope you won’t mind replacing Peavey?”

Hux frowned before moving even closer to Armitage and kissing his shoulder, “They should not escape unpunished.” Upon hearing his captain’s name, he could only sigh. “Won’t be a problem. Why does it not surprise me? Just take Opan with you, he’s good at clean-up.” 

“As much I would like to kill Kylo Ren, us not letting him become Supreme Leader will be enough. He got impossible after getting obsessed with the Force-sensitive scavenger girl, Rey. And killing Han Solo. I think that pushed him over an edge.”

Hux for a second stopped breathing. Kylo Ren did all this? He cupped Armitage’s cheek, turning him to face him. “I promise you—Kylo bloody Ren will not ever harm you again.” 

Armitage wasn’t sure who first initiated it, but a second later they were exchanging soft kisses. Not even the datapad beeping its morning alarm could separate them now. Hux will just have to be a bit late for a bridge shift. 

They continued kissing, letting the hands roam, exploring the familiar skin. It was a bit unreal, but at the same time so right—they definitely knew exactly where to touch to garner the best responses. Soft sighs soon turned into moans as they started thrusting at each other. It was unhurried and most of all soft. Kisses eventually turned more passionate and hands wondered far enough to wring even louder moans from the other. 

Armitage smirked a bit before leaning forwards and biting at Hux’s neck; wanting to leave something to remind him of this morning—all through the day. Hux retaliated by running his fingers over Armitage’s nipples pinching one, then repeating it with the other even a bit harder when that didn’t make Armitage leave his neck alone.

“Everyone will see—ah that, you know. Ahh—” 

“They should know you have someone.” Armitage sucked another bruise before softly kissing it. “To take you as you deserve it.” He let his hand reach down and take both their cocks in hand stroking up and down. The precome made everything slippery enough. 

“And what makes you think I’ll let you take me?”

“You like it too much. I like it too much.” Armitage said before leaning down to kiss Hux again. After that it didn’t take much more friction for them to come.

“Mmm.” Hux hummed, letting his fingers run through Armitage’s hair. It was definitely longer that his own, but the color was the same. I smelled the same and brought him inconceivable amounts of comfort. Armitage was softly panting, trying to catch his breath.

“Why do I have a feeling its going to be a very long day today?”

In response Armitage snorted and bit at Hux’s shoulder where he was resting his head a moment ago. “I’m sure I could speed it up.”

“I’m sure you would.” Hux responded by grabbing at Armitage’s hair. “Are you planning on marking me everywhere?”

“I don’t hear you complaining.” Armitage said before laying another bite on the shoulder, then kissing the skin in a quiet apology.

“Hmm, beast.” Hux snorted, before shoving forward and turning them around in bed. “You made me late.” He was straddling Armitage, looking down at him, appreciating all he saw.

“I can make it up to you.” Armitage said, letting his hands run up Hux’s sides.

 

~~

 

Armitage stood by the viewport, looking over the trees and snow covering Starkiller. It felt exhilarating seeing the planet—not destroyed, being full of potential. Destruction of the New Republic would be carried out as planned if he had a say in it. And Hux had done everything to ensure he had a say in it.

Having helped the engineers solve this problem once already, Armitage privately could only smirk and look upon the relieved faces of everyone gathered for the morning meeting when he presented the solution. It would maximize the destructive force of Starkiller—it would be able to emit not just one but multiple blasts at the same firing. By the meeting’s end he had divided the tasks among the engineers and everyone involved to work on implementing the repairs. While they were moving towards testing phase, Armitage could accompany Hux in his endeavors.

They were to shuttle to the _Finalizer_ as soon as it entered the system.

It gave Armitage both relief and anxiety: relief came from moving forwards with their plans, seeing Phasma again and enjoying the inevitable death of Edrison Peavey; but the anxiety—Kylo Ren was aboard the _Finalizer_. The thought of seeing him was disquieting; it gave him the chills just thinking about it. 

Rationally he knew that the Kylo Ren—who he was inevitably going to run into—was not the same Kylo Ren he left behind in his original timeline. That did nothing for his nerves and the increased heart-rate. Telling himself to get a grip did not help either. For a moment Armitage contemplated Reconditioning as a means to getting back to baseline, but quickly discarded it. It was an unnerving kind of psychological torture and would impair his abilities, perhaps even suppressing memories—while useful where Kylo Ren was concerned—it would be damaging to their plans to make sure the timeline did not go the same this time.

Perhaps he should try differentiate them? Ren could stand for the one from his own horrid original timeline, and Kylo for the one probably throwing a tantrum somewhere in space right now. He would work on that. Their first meeting will set the tone.

A visit to the armory would also be a good idea to combat the nerves Kylo Ren kept agitating. 

Armitage comm’ed Tritt Opan for a meeting, letting his gaze roam over the personnel working the consoles; chatting among themselves having no idea that most of them would be dead in about ten days time. 

Across the command center, Hux was discussing something with Unamo over holo. If he had to guess—probably the quickest way to bomb the Resistance’s base on D’Qar without it turning it into a suicide mission. Their forces currently weren’t diminished therefore a direct attack on D’Qar would be a massively stupid idea. An alternate plan had to be created. But at least now they knew where the scum was hiding and could cut their supply routes off. Choke them were they slept.

“Sir.”

Armitage kept looking at Hux for a few seconds more; admiring the bruises on his neck; above the collar—for everyone to see. Only then he shifted the gaze away, not even trying to suppress the smirk blooming on his features.

“Captain Opan. Thank you for accommodating me in your schedule. Please walk with me.” He moved leisurely towards the exit, motioning for Opan to follow him. He didn’t have to turn around to know Hux checking out his ass. 

Most of walk to the armory was spent in silence, but soon enough they were in less populated places.

“I know you serve my brother admirably. And discreetly.” A shark’s smile lit up his features just thinking about Peavey’s demise. That man deserved to perish. “Once aboard the _Finalizer_ I will be requiring your expertise with a little pest problem. I will do the—let us call it extermination—but the clean-up would be up to you.”

Not even a muscle twitched in Tritt Opan’s face, just as Armitage expected. He had worked with the man for a long enough time. 

Opan was observant, good at recalling events and people traits, excellent at finding secrets and lies. He definitely knew that General Hux’s first name was Armitage. And also knew with a degree of certainty that General Hux didn’t actually have a bother. 

“Understood, sir.” Opan replied, waiting for a time frame or further orders.

“The _Finalizer_ is en route and should arrive near the end of beta shift. We will shuttle over at shift change. Be ready to shadow me once we are aboard.” Armitage relayed his orders before dismissing the captain. The armory door was in sight.

He had a date with a new blaster.

 

~~

 

Taking off from the surface of Starkiller was easier than Armitage expected; he was showing off his newly acquired blaster to Hux, whispering in his ear exactly how many times he was planning on shooting Peavey with it. The docking with the _Finalizer_ came sooner than expected. Armitage took a deep breath before unstrapping from the seat and gathering enough strength in his legs to stand up. 

The wretchedness of Kylo Ren loomed in front of his eyes; replaying memories in his head about every torturous minute in his presence during the three horrible months.

He let the breath out and stepped forward. 

He can do this.

And if not, then he will shoot Kylo Ren in the face and be done with him.

Looking up at the hangar of the _Finalizer_ with all of its TIE Fighters where they should be was like coming home. 

Lieutenant Mitaka was in front of a trooper squad, looking fairly relieved to see Hux return. Ren probably had been destroying training rooms again. Upon seeing Armitage follow right behind him, lieutenant’s face first showed surprise, then confusion, before managing to get back to neutrality. 

“Sir. Welcome back.” Mitaka saluted and the troopers mirrored him.

“Lieutenant. It is good to be back.” Hux inclined his head in a greeting, looking over the troopers before stepping to the side, motioning for Armitage to move forward. “This is my brother, Officer Armitage. Write up a memo. He has just returned from the Unknown Regions, Maps Corps. Now primarily stationed on Starkiller, with the engineering division. Currently my guest, not to be disturbed.” The _shown the same deference as me _was implied in Hux’s look towards Mitaka and everyone in the hangar listening in on the conversation.__

__“Dismissed, everyone.” A number of curious glances were sent towards Armitage. He was attired differently than Hux, a more lighter—and definitely softer—uniform; a tunic with a low-cut neck, and a half length coat. There was no pomade in his hair, and he was already sporting a beard; it would grow bushy soon enough to make the two of them even more visually different from each other._ _

__Mitaka saluted again and motioned the troopers to return to their post. A heavy tread was moving their way from across the hangar. Armitage froze, locking his eyes on the person approaching, letting his gaze run up and down._ _

__Hux spoke first, “Captain Phasma, so good to see you again.”_ _

__“General. You as well.” Phasma saluted Hux then turned to Armitage, taking all of him in. She too was familiar enough with Hux to know he didn’t actually have a brother. “Now this is interesting.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter specific warnings:
> 
> light smut, huxcest - armitage and hux having a fun morning;  
> more murder planning, but not in too much detail.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Interesting is definitely one word for this situation.” Hux was sipping from a cup strongly made Tarine tea; he had scheduled himself a shift on the bridge after this interlude. “Weird is another.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again THANK you to those who are reading this fic, leaving kudos and comments and bookmarking this <3 ily
> 
> chapter specific warnings at the end notes!

Armitage, Hux and Phasma were in officer’s lounge aboard the _Finalizer_. Mostly to talk and indulge Phasma’s curiosity, but also because if was the last place Kylo Ren would show up in. Armitage was all for confronting and getting it over with, but his nerves did not agree—they would rather have a panic attack. Armitage was not willing to have one today, or _ever, thank you_.

“Interesting is definitely one word for this situation.” Hux was sipping from a cup strongly made Tarine tea; he had scheduled himself a shift on the bridge after this interlude. “Weird is another.”

Armitage snorted, keeping his eye on Phasma. It was truly good to see her again. Even if they were not the closest of friends, they had an affinity for each other. Perhaps this time round they could take that step and turn this work partnership into a more true friendship perhaps. He may never fully completely trust her, because she will always have her own agenda, but they could come close to something better than it was.

“And how this came to happen?” Phasma had removed the helmet, letting it rest on the table. Her short blonde hair were defying gravity and trying to run in several directions at once. 

Armitage was sure that Phasma had several theories, and most likely was putting the clone theory far above time travel. Hux avoided the answer by taking a sip from the tea; smugly looking over at Armitage over the rim of the cup, daring him to become a fool by trying to explain something not usually possible.

“Hmm. Let’s just say that the Attendants, the navigators, that they are really good at navigating.” He let that tangle stay as it is for Phasma perusal. “The how isn’t the most important bit. What is the important part is that I am here to stay. And—well. Do a number of seemingly strange things, which will be very important in the long run.”

“I see. Then I hope that two of you will be better at it then just one of you.” 

Armitage could hear the incredulity in her voice and had to roll his eyes at it. “Oh we will be.” He did notice Phasma’s eyes lingering on the teeth shape bruises adorning Hux’s neck. He did nothing to prove or disprove any theories she might have about Hux or the both of them. They weren’t close enough yet for him to talk about it with her.

Soon after their talk Phasma returned to her duties, leaving them alone. There were other officers scattered about the lounge, but none sitting too close to them. Tritt Opan was near the door, working on a datapad. Armitage moved from the chair he was in to the couch; to sit next to Hux, shortening the distance between the two of them. They were in a secluded enough of a corner that no one would see them too clearly. 

Hux was sitting tall, keeping his posture and still sipping tea. That stoic pose made Armitage want to disrupt it, even if for a second. He scooted back a bit and laid down on his left side in Hux’s lap; startling him a bit, but not enough to spill the tea. 

“You really are impatient.” Hux sighed, but let the hand not holding onto the cup reach down; running it through Armitage’s hair. Softly touching his ear and cheek and eyebrows. They were his own eyebrows; it was very much like looking into a mirror, but a mirror did not give you the sensation of touch—the warmth, the texture and all the facial expressions Armitage was running through.

“What can I say. Being touch starved is hell.” Armitage muttered, squeezing his eyes close for a moment. His right hand traveled up, grabbing onto Hux’s side through the uniform; feeling the warmth of Hux’s skin seep through it. The greatcoat was now covering both of them, like a comforting blanket. Armitage loved that coat, it had always been a warm companion in the cold of space aboard starships, and was not very much glad that at least one of them got to keep it. “I could stay here forever.”

Hux hummed from above him, “No matter how much I want to agree with you, we have things to do.”

Yes. They had to get Finalizer closer to Jakku, but not close enough to arise suspicion from Ren or Snoke. “Jakku. Lor San Tekka holds a fragment of a map.”

“The one leading to Luke Skywalker.”

“Yes.” Armitage confirmed, hudding a bit closer to Hux’s side. “Skywalker himself did not live long after the confrontation with Ren. But that was because he sent a Force projection of a sort of himself to the battle. If he is not prodded to return he will wither and die on whatever planet he had holed up in.”

“The map has to be destroyed.”

“Exactly. Better not add the galaxy’s greatest hero to the mix and get every rebel’s hopes up.”

“Jakku. It’s in the middle of nowhere.”

Armitage smiled; he knew Hux would appreciate the following, “There’s a Resistance friendly outpost on Takodana.”

“Well.” Hux smiled, “That is good news. We can travel right by Jakku, take a little break over its atmosphere and continue onward.”

“Even if that cantina claims to be neutral, they still can be interrogated. Someone there could spill the name D’Qar. Make everyone excited that the Resistance has been found.” That was a truly pleasant thought and Armitage tried to burrow even closer to Hux while entertaining ideas on how D’Qar and all its scum could blow up in a big fiery explosion. A bit like celebratory fireworks. 

“You said there was also a Force-sensitive girl on Jakku?” Hux put the empty cup on the table and leaned over Armitage hiding him even more from view. 

“Yes. Rey. But she too will stay put if left alone I believe. Ren picked up a Resistance pilot on Jakku, and FN-2187 then freed him from the interrogation room; they stole an TIE Fighter together and crashed it on Jakku, with everyone thinking the pilot dead. The trooper somehow got tangled up with the girl, and the pilot’s droid that was actually carrying the map, left behind on Jakku. All three took off in a light fighter because our TIE’s were looking for them, and troopers were on the ground shooting at them.”

“So.” Hux said, “Don’t look for them, don’t shoot at them. If we don’t give them cause to leave the planet—they will stay put. FN-2187 can join the scavengers for all I care.”

Armitage would rather shoot the traitor right now, but he can still hold off. “We can take a shuttle, _to see the sights_ on Jakku, have the FN squad accompany us. Destroy the map, return before Ren has had a tantrum.”

“This is what advance knowledge gives us—cut the problems down before they become that.”

 

~~

 

While Hux went to his bridge shift and to arrange sending the _Finalizer_ towards Takodana; with a brief scheduled stopover at Jakku, Armitage had arranged a little last meeting with one Edrison Peavey. 

Armitage knew very well how that meeting would end, and Opan was lingering nearby, but captain Peavey did not. He thought it was a routine meeting regarding his running on the _Finalizer_ while Hux was on Starkiller. It was not.

It was instead a meeting Armitage was about to enjoy very very much. Even if this version of Peavey did not double cross and betray him, it was inevitable that he would do that. He had always barely hid his disdain for General Hux the youngest. Better to remove this obstacle before it grows too much ambition.

“I was supposed to meet General Hux.” 

Armitage turned from the viewport to look at Peavey. The conference room table was separating them, with Peavey stopping near one of the chairs across where Armitage was still standing. He too stayed standing.

“And you will.” Armitage spoke, softly. He took a step closer to the table and the datapad resting on its surface. He swiped across it to set the room’s door to lock. Of those who did not have the right pass code, an admiral might be able to override his lock, or Kylo Ren might slash through the door with his lightsaber. Other than that they were given all possible privacy he required. “Just not the Hux you are expecting.” 

“What?” Peavey’s look of impatience turned to anger, masking his sudden confusion. It was always easier for people like him to express anger than something else. Armitage despised people like that. It was one of the numerous reasons he had worked with Phasma on killing his father. The First Order under Armitage Hux had no tolerance for old Imperials and their petty wants and hang-ups.

No. He, both Armitage and Hux, would make the First Order into a true leader of the galaxy. 

“Your sentence has already been passed. You may cry and scream and pout all you like—you are already dead.” Armitage said, with no emotion in his voice. He will relish looking at the corpse later; will definitely appreciate how nicer it will be standing on the bridge of the _Finalizer_ without this man being there. Yes.

Peavey had fully moved from anger into rage, “You piece of shit weakling. Whoever you are, you will regret crossin—.” He didn’t get to finish the sentence because Armitage had pulled his blaster out and fired off a single shot. Right in the face of Edrison Peavey.

But one wasn’t enough. In his mind Armitage was still seeing the smug smirking look of Peavey; _him standing by the door, gloating that Ren knew about the coup before watching Armitage getting stabbed with that damned lightsaber_. He shot again and again. Every further shot that landed in Peavey’s corpse made more and more blood pool on the floor. A moment later he found himself on the table, crouching on its surface, having the high ground, looking at the expanding red on the ground in front of him. He did not want to step into the blood, even if that would give him an even more visceral satisfaction to know that the bastard was dead.

Not long after, Armitage let his blaster clutter next to him on the table. He was panting—in both relief and horror about what he had done. He could not make himself move. He wanted to curl up and sleep this whole horrible situation away, but somehow knew that it would turn once again worse before it got better.

When Opan entered the pass code to open the door, Armitage was still sitting on the table, not letting his eyes move away from the red on the floor. He wanted to hear a remark, a comment, anything; words that would call him feral or unbalanced or off the chain, but nothing was forthcoming from Opan. This wasn’t the worst his captain had seen, even if it was the first time something like this was done by Armitage’s own hand. Seeing Opan start clean-up, Armitage made himself move. First off the table, then grabbing the blaster in hand, almost running out of the room. 

He had to put as much distance between it and himself as he could. He could untangle his thoughts, as soon as he was in Hux’s bed; where it was soft and warm and utterly safe.

It was just his luck running into Kylo Ren.

Kriffing shit.

“General?” Came a question from behind the mask. Armitage had almost forgotten that wretched thing, with the many days of his ‘assistance’ spent in Ren’s presence and loathing his smug smirks. 

“Out of my way!” He almost shouted, wanting to move past him. His nerves were already unsettled; he truly did not want to have a panic attack on top of everything else right not.

“You are acting very erratic, General Hux.” Kylo Ren drew himself to full height, moving to the side with the intention to block him from moving further along the hallway.

Armitage could hear the mocking in his voice, turning the Hux into _Huxy_ , even if only in his head. 

Without regard for the Force or anything Kylo Ren would do to him, he pointed the blaster—primed and ready—at Ren’s head. The muzzle was touching the mask at the point behind which Ren’s eyes were hidden. Armitage relaxed his other hand, quickly pulling the monomolecular blade out. Then moved the hand up, lightening-quick to set its point at Ren’s throat, right at the place where his the neck and mask met. Vulnerable soft skin, so near vital veins and arteries.

“Not Huxy! It’s Armitage! And I am not bluffing here, I dare you to try—will your Force be faster than me?”

Ren did not say anything, or try to Force-push him away. Instead Armitage felt Ren attempt to get in his head. “Oh I don’t think so.” He snarled, pushing him out of his head; after three months of constant assaults it was easy. He then took a physical step forward too—forcing Ren to back up or get impaled in the neck. “Do not come near me. Do not think about harming me, do not think anything about me. Stay the fuck away.”

Two more steps and he had backed Ren into the nearest wall. Armitage was vibrating with tension, ready to shoot and push the knife into the soft flesh at the smallest provocation. Kylo Ren had almost frozen in place, his hands loose at his sides, trying to appear non-threatening. Armitage thought Ren had tilted his masked head to the side in curiosity, but it might have been just to avoid the knife point digging in his neck. In any case, any attacks from Ren were not forthcoming.

Armitage waited for a full minute before withdrawing; blaster still pointed at Ren and the blade squeezed in his fist, slightly trembling now. He leveled a look at Ren—like this, almost leaning against a wall, frozen in caution or curiosity, he seemed harmless.

Perhaps he could revisit the thought of renaming him Kylo in his thoughts.

But not yet. Kylo Ren was never truly harmless.

Taking a breath, Armitage moved down the hallway, making himself not to look back at Ren—Kylo. Kylo had been warned, and their first meeting did not end in bloodshed. Armitage soon enough reached the end of the hallway, getting in the elevator and going to Hux’s rooms to hide away from this day.

 

~~

 

Kylo Ren was still slumped against the wall. He was definitely confused. Baffled, curious and at the same time aroused. Was it Hux? Not Hux? Armitage. 

This Hux look-alike _Armitage_ resisted him trying to read his mind, pointed a blaster at his face, and set a blade against his neck. Touching the place in question with his hand, he pulled back with a wince—there was blood on his gloves. 

Whoever this Armitage was, he was very interesting. And worth keeping an eye one. Perhaps from a safe distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter specific warnings:
> 
> minor character death comes into play this chapter,  
> armitage doing a murder, semi graphically  
> panic attacks mentioned


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armitage was hiding. This afternoon he had thought he could spend being a decisive, cold-blooded person and .. well—evil. But instead he spent it unsteady, unnerved and almost vibrating out of his skin with tension. If it had been just the confrontation with Peavey and its inevitable consequences, he could have walked his reaction off; actually killing another human being—all the blood and guts and gore on the floor—was incredibly harder than he had pictured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading this <3 i am awed that actual people like my writing!
> 
> the only chapter warning for this would be that there's a smut scene - i have almost no experience with writing them, so i hope it's good or at least somewhat realistic.

Armitage was hiding. This afternoon he had thought he could spend being a decisive, cold-blooded person and .. well—evil. But instead he spent it unsteady, unnerved and almost vibrating out of his skin with tension. If it had been just the confrontation with Peavey and its inevitable consequences, he could have walked his reaction off; actually killing another human being—all the blood and guts and gore on the floor—was incredibly harder than he had pictured. 

Instead he had ran into Kylo Ren. 

The one person he had dreaded meeting again the most. The one who had fucked with his head, insulted and tortured him for close to three months. And this confrontation hit him where it hurts, and now Armitage was hiding. Not very efficiently, because Hux noticed and found him as soon as he walked into his quarters. 

Armitage was huddling under a blanket, leaning against the side of his favourite ice-blue couch. An overturned cup of Tarine tea was still on the table, where he had tried to make it for himself, to calm the nerves. It spilling over the surface, did not help matters. At least if was contained, not spilled over to the floor to make the mess even bigger. 

“Kriff. Armitage?” Hux rushed over after quickly surveying the situation; threw his datapad at the couch to free his hands so he could get access to Armitage. “Are you ok? You don’t look alright at all. What happened?” 

Hux got on his knees, not caring about his uniform pants, and reached for the blanket half-covering Armitage who sat on the floor, slightly shivering. It wasn’t from cold; the quarters were warmer since Armitage moved in than Hux used to keep them.

With the blanket out of way, Hux quickly looked him over, looking for any injuries; letting out a sigh when he found no blood or wounds. Then he noticed the blaster and the knife on the ground—the knife did have blood on it, and Hux was almost scared to ask whose was it, but with Armitage in this state he could easily infer who the owner was. “Shit. I will kill that piece of shit Ren if he hurt you.”

Armitage sighed in abject misery, letting his hands fall from sides, where up til not he was hugging himself; and fully moving into Hux’s embrace. Having someone living next to him felt like relief; especially someone who he could trust not to hurt him. “I threatened him. He did not even use Force on me—well, he tried to read my mind, but I know how to shut him out.”

“Kriff.” Hux put his hands around Armitage, pulling him closer; giving comfort did not come naturally to him, but somehow giving it to another version of himself was a lot more easier. He just had to picture himself in the situation what he would want. “I bet he was confused as hell seeing you threaten him. I would have liked to have seen that.” 

Armitage snorted; now, being safe and back in Hux’s arms it was a lot easier to recall the events of this afternoon. They did not seem so big and horrible and unmanageable. “Hmm. I had forgotten about that horrid mask he had.”

This time is was Hux who snorted; while masks and head-gear wasn’t anything odd, wearing it all the time, for no other reason than aesthetic was weird. “What happened to it?”

“He smashed it into a wall of an elevator.” Armitage had seen the damage report with the attached pictures. The elevator did not deserve it.

“Why does that doesn’t surprise me.” Hux muttered, slightly shaking his head. “I can still kill him if you want. That will screw with our moving forward, but we can plan around it.”

Doing away with Snoke sooner than later would alter their plans, yes, but Armitage was sure that Supreme Leader would not forgive the murder of his apprentice. “No. I think we can let him live. For a little while. It was unnerving, yes—I didn’t feel prepared to meet him then and there—but, I think nothing could have prepared me for that.”

Hux said nothing, starting to rub slow circles into Armitage’s back, moving his head to kiss his cheek, ruffling the ginger hair with his other hand. It felt pleasant to run his hand through it. While he could never make himself to go on duty without the pomade, somehow the wild look was good on Armitage. Especially in combination with that beard.

Armitage sighed in feeling, the soft touches were nice and soothing.

“Piece of advice, my dear me; from now on let someone else do the killing. It’s fun to plan it and imagine it—but actually doing it..” Armitage trailed off, looking somewhere in the distance, recalling being in the same room as Edrison Peavey as he was dying. He shuddered, letting go of the memory; then focusing back on the present. Hux felt warm next to him and as a heavy presence; grounding him, letting him feel solid and present.

“Will you be alright?”

“Yeah—yes. I will be.” Armitage nodded, turning his head to meet Hux’s lips with his own. He let his tongue explore, then nibbling at Hux’s lower lip, looking into his eyes; the same familiar eyes, but much less haunted. It was good to see that relative innocence in them; that Hux wasn’t as damaged as himself. There was potential in him, to achieve so much, and he will help Hux to get there. “Next time I see Kylo, I will point the blaster at his head and warn him again. I bet he can be trained not to use that Force of his on me; or you.”

“Hmm, I will make sure I’m there next time.” Hux kissed back, touching his lips to Armitage’s soft ones, just feeling their fullness; before running his hand once again though his hair, then grabbing a good handful and pulling his head back. It was his turn to mark the neck with marks. 

Armitage huffed out a laugh, but did not stop Hux from leaving kisses and bruises on his neck; he wanted the _Finalizer_ to speculate, to gossip and draw all kinds of conclusions. “I think we should move to a more comfortable spot, don’t you think?”

Hux hummed in reply, not letting his lips leave the neck, continuing to suck a bruise in Armitage’s skin. 

Getting the strength back into their numb legs took time, but eventually both managed to stumble onto the couch. Once there going back to kissing again. Armitage put his hand on Hux’s shoulder pulling him closer, then with the other started undoing Hux’s uniform pants. Having the knowledge on how to open them as quick as possible meant he was touching Hux through his underwear just a moment later, making him let out those sinful moans.

“That’s a very good sound you are making.” He commented, drawing just a little back from the kiss. Hux smirked before softly sighing, then seized the opportunity to latch back onto Armitage’s neck once again, to pull up another bruise. If Hux kept this up, the gossip mill tomorrow will speculate on so many things. 

Armitage pulled Hux’s underwear down and was stroking his cock with light touches, almost teasing him. If Hux hadn’t been hard when they started this, then he was very much so now, and kept moaning louder and louder; he tried to muffle the sound by pressing his mouth fully to Armitage’s neck. 

Armitage could feel the moans vibrate at his skin, making him smile and say, “Keep going, I know you want to be loud. Don’t stop yourself.”

Hux was thrusting into Armitage’s hand, a bit faster with every stroke, immensely enjoying himself. He was still leaning against the couch, to have a surface to push against, giving his thrusts some power and balance out Armitage stroking him. A blush on Hux’s cheeks was rosy and expanding, his breathing getting more and more erratic. Armitage was thoroughly enjoying having reduced Hux to moaning and seeking pleasure—he looked absolutely passionate and loose and happy. He was very glad to have made Hux so disheveled, not thinking about appearances for once, just taking pleasure. 

Armitage slid to the ground, getting on his knees and moving his mouth where his hand was still jerking Hux’s cock. From the sound Hux made when the mouth engulfed his cock, Armitage knew this was the right move. A moment later Hux’s hand slid in his hair, not pulling, just holding on, as if without that hold he would slip away and disappear. 

“Ahh—Armitage, so good. Yeah— _mmm, keep going_.” 

Armitage smiled, as much as it was possible when your mouth was full of cock, humming. That move ratcheted Hux’s moans to a higher pitch and made them more become frequent, with _more good yeah please_ among other words mixed in.

Armitage put both hands on Hux’s hips, then pulled him closer to the edge of the couch. Hux legs were spread so enticingly, and Armitage moved closer, almost deepthroating the cock in his mouth with every other swallow. He once again hummed before pulling off—a strand of precome connecting his lip and the slit of Hux’s cock.

“Stars, you look, ahh—Armitage, you look so good, _mmm, c’mon_ —.” Hux was looking at him with wonder in his eyes, not believing how this person could be here, be this good to him, no one else would be as compatible.

Armitage smirked licking his lips and making the precome strand break; then moving forward to swallow Hux down once again, before starting up a fast pace. He was letting his teeth scrape a bit along Hux’s cock while pulling off; a move which made Hux shout out loud. Engulfing the cock into his mouth completely—down, right to the root—Armitage looked up, seeing the glassy almost out-fucked eyes Hux had, his mouth half-open, spilling moans and sighs of impatience. He moved yet another inch closer, and swallowed—that was enough, Hux let his head fall back, letting out a load moan, spilling down Armitage’s throat; pulling on his hair, where his hand was still tangled.

Armitage stayed where he was, swallowing the come down; looking over Hux who was panting, now making weak pulls at his hair, but not letting go. He then, slowly, almost tortuously was pulling off from the cock; the slow glide and further swallows was making Hux shiver with sensitivity. 

“Good boy.” Armitage said, when Hux was spread out on the couch, looking perfect.

 

~~

 

Next morning, Armitage was on the bridge—shadowing Hux—letting his gaze travel from officers at their consoles, whispering and being distracted from their jobs, to Hux’s ass, which looked really good in those tight pants, to the space beyond the viewport. 

It was the latter that let him imagine a moment of the future—a very different that the one he came from—a place where the First Order was victorious and ruling over the galaxy, with no worlds suffering from inadequate oversight and not enough resources. Everyone would have a fighting chance for success. 

Turning back from the viewport, Armitage sought out Hux in the room. While the space around him was familiar, and it was good to be back here, with power in his hands, he still felt uneasy. No one here had seen the worst of the First Order; he doubted they could even picture it in their minds. They had different frames of references in their heads and Armitage would never be able to go back to being General Hux of the First Order. He could try—and fail— at it; the position and his experiences would chafe, and he felt that if had replaced this Hux instead of working along him, it would have ended in ruin and death once more.

His and Hux’s eyes connected, letting him breathe out a sigh of relief. Hux had the general part covered, so he could enjoy the little freedoms he had gained.

When alfa shift was nearing its end, Kylo Ren walked onto the bridge. He hadn’t noticed Armitage yet, beelining towards Hux at full speed, almost clipping Mitaka, making the lieutenant fumble to catch his falling datapad. Mitaka didn’t immediately back off, reminding Armitage, that this Kylo hadn’t yet choked him for delivering bad news.

Not wanting Kylo to try and read Hux’s mind, Armitage moved towards the two of them. The officers at their workstations first fell quiet, then started whispering. They had seen Kylo and Hux argue before, yes, but the situation was slightly changed today. They were now intrigued what Hux’s brother would bring to the mix.

They were probably not expecting the blaster shot.

Armitage did not even notice when he had pulled the blaster from his holster, not to mention clicking the safety off. A white, slightly red tinted blaster bolt had shot towards Kylo Ren.

Then had stopped in mid-air.

Hux looked surprised with this development, but not overly upset—death of Kylo Ren did not bother him at his point of his life. Kylo was still standing where he was, he had almost reached Hux’s side at the long-range sensors, before being suddenly shot at. 

The two troopers stationed at the bridge doors were pointing their own blasters at Armitage, but not that convincingly. They probably were expecting Kylo to solve the issue on his own. Instead he once again tilted his head to the side, as if confronted with a very interesting specimen he could not make ends or tails of. 

Armitage gritted his teeth before re-holstering his blaster. “Ooops, I guess.” He shrugged, moving closer—stopping at the blaster bolt to look at it from the side. In the before he had read and heard the reports from Jakku about Kylo doing this with the Force. It was much more impressive to see it in person. 

“Who the hell you are?” Kylo moved his hand downwards, making the blaster bolt scorch the floor, and officers all around the bridge flinch. “This is the second time you’ve pulled a blaster on me!”

Armitage smirked, having finally reached both Kylo and Hux; the latter almost rolling his eyes at both of them. But even with that seemingly light attitude, Armitage noticed one of Hux’s hand slipping into the greatcoat, no doubt ready to pull his own blaster if Kylo would decide to retaliate. 

“I think my actions speak much louder than words, don’t you think?” Armitage moved around Kylo, keeping a safe distance from the man, to stand next to Hux.

“Don’t piss him off too much, Armitage.” Hux lightly said, half-focusing back on the long-range sensors. Jakku was fast approaching. 

Kylo Ren was letting his gaze travel from Hux to Armitage and back, cataloging their similarities and differences; and was startled to realize that there were much too much similarities over actual differences.

“I will not let this stand!” Kylo shouted at both of them, before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room. “Supreme Leader will not let this stand!”

Hux sighed, rubbing his forehead; he had enough to worry about without Kylo Ren going tattling on them to Snoke.

“If my math is correct, and that long-range sensor isn’t glitching—and I know it isn’t, relax, that pouty face is adorable—then Snoke should be occupied by something else, and won’t have time for Kylo being upset.”

 

~~

 

Kylo was striding towards Supreme Leader’s holochamber, incensed—that Armitage was a menace. He had unearthed his datapad from his work table in the morning, to search for individuals named Armitage in First Order’s system. There was only one—Armitage Hux, brother to General A. Hux; after graduating the Academy, stationed with Map Corps; traveling the Unknown Regions until a few days ago, when he was placed with the engineering section on Starkiller; currently on a vacation.

Noticing the _A_ in Hux’s name, he clicked on general’s profile as well—it was much more extensive, with promotions and commendations to his file. But no first name. All he had was an initial, the _A_.

Kylo now, having seen them stand next to each other, suspected that this Armitage was a clone. They had the same facial features, voice timbre, build and those damned freckles. Their demeanor was completely different, but if the clone one had indeed been stationed in Unknown Regions, that would explain why he was so feral. 

That still did not explain why he deemed it necessary to shoot at him. To try and kill him both times they had ended up in a room together. His fearlessness was making Kylo breath a bit deeper—him daring to lay a hand on him, drawing blood with that damn blade—why was he so distracted by Armitage?

It was definitely Hux’s fault. That smarmy fucker had probably complained to his clone-brother about Kylo and let him loose to do what he wanted.

Snoke will shut this whole thing down, of that Kylo was sure.

Not a long while later, Kylo was standing before the holographic throne; waiting for his master.

“Supreme Leader, I have a grievance.”

Snoke had finally graced him with his presence, but what Kylo could see in his expression was that he was distracted. Some other thought was occupying Supreme Leader. Still, he launched into the explanation—Hux’s brother and their encounters, his suspicions that Armitage was probably Hux’s clone, that neither of them have any respect for him—only to be interrupted.

“Enough. This matter is trivial. Don’t cross him, either of them at this time. The general’s weapon is almost ready, and it is far more important than your petty dealings with the officers.”

Kylo backed off, almost taking a step back physically, but stopping himself in time. It wouldn’t do to show weakness before his master. Supreme Leader had before almost encouraged their animosity, pitting him and Hux against each other.

What had changed?

“I feel something approaching. The Force is restless. Something stirs, not far from here. Be vigilant. Something is about to awaken.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jakku; sand and heat and relentless sun. Armitage stood next to their transport—a troop carrier with the First Order logo on its side. He was grimacing in the heat and the sun, hiding the light skin under a hat; still unused to being planet-side. Starkiller was all snow and trees and gloom; there was no need for aids against the sun, only a warm enough coat and thick-soled boots to keep warm. This, here, was too warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you everyone who is reading and commenting and leaving kudos on this fic <3 i love you all!
> 
>  
> 
> chapter warnings and a spoiler for those who get worried mid-chapter at the end!

Jakku; sand and heat and relentless sun. Armitage stood next to their transport—a troop carrier with the First Order logo on its side. He was grimacing in the heat and the sun, hiding the light skin under a hat; still unused to being planet-side. Starkiller was all snow and trees and gloom; there was no need for aids against the sun, only a warm enough coat and thick-soled boots to keep warm. This, here, was too warm. Armitage looked towards the outpost they had landed next to while he waited for Hux who was still in the shuttle, on the comms—talking with Mitaka—finalizing orders for his absence. With Peavey gone, it was Mitaka who got a promotion.

FN troops, four of them, including FN-2187, were standing next to a landspeeder, ready for their orders on this outing.

Armitage tried to read 2187’s demeanor from his stance and movements; but just from that nothing made him think that _Finn_ would go and betray the First Order in any manner. The opposite actually seemed more true—according to files he was on command track, about to lead his own squad any day now. Special training with Phasma and all that.

He tried to recall the incident report from Jakku in greater detail; there was something, a trigger that made FN-2187 abandon his squad and the First Order. What was it? Armitage was hoping that this outing would help with that. If not, then it wouldn’t be great loss. He could still just kill him.

“FN-2187, you are with us. The rest—guard the shuttle and the pilot. Patrol the outpost, report any Resistance activity to the _Finalizer_. Captain Mitaka is on call.” Hux ordered as he exited the shuttle. Armitage turned his gaze away, smirking. He and Hux had a lovely morning today as well; Hux woke him up with lips around his cock and a smug look in his eyes. It was a truly good wake-up alarm.

The troopers saluted Hux and gathered to divide the tasks. 

FN-2187 stayed with the landspeeder, saluting them both again, as they approached. “Sir. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

“Your file is quite impressive. Captain Phasma tells me you have skill and promise to become a squad leader in future.” Hux replied.

The plan for Jakku was simple. Get to Lor San Tekka, get the map. Kill Tekka and get rid of FN-2187 somewhere in the desert. Armitage was still waying options—to kill him or not—his death would eliminate any future upheavals in the First Order. But leaving 2187 somewhere in the desert to suffer sounded promising as well. He’ll decide when they will get to it.

 

~~

 

The trip to outpost Lor San Tekka calls home is uneventful; they go past several other outposts; bigger and smaller, but all covered in sand and looking like they’ve never seen better days. Lone scavengers scattered in the desert, with all manner of beasts, some with speeders. Armitage tries to guess if any of them is Rey. Would she sense something off in the Force? That, perhaps, Armitage should not be here, in this timeline?

They stop for a lunch break in a rather scenic place; if one would consider the ruins of a star destroyer scenic. 

Armitage recalled being on Jakku as a child; the plans to blow up the planet and training with the desert children. He did not like to think about it; yes it was time he met Rae Sloane, but it was also time spent with his father, which at that point in his life was less than pleasant. 

Better to focus on the might of the First Order and their plans for it coming along nicely. Jakku was an insignificant little world, but somehow again and again central to big historical events. Perhaps Starkiller could be pointed at it after it dealt with Hosnian Prime?

“So, FN-2187, was it? You want to become a squad leader?” Armitage asked, after finishing a ration bar. Hux was looking at the downed star destroyer and sipping at a thermos full of Tarine tea; remembering days spend on this planet as well.

“Yes, sir! I wish to be the best self I can be.” FN-2187 was standing near the landspeeder, helmet still on. He new better to stay vigilant if no one ordered him to partake lunch.

“Hmm. You want to dedicate your life and entire being to the First Order?” Armitage momentarily wished for FN-2187 to disobey orders—to take the helmet off—to see his face as he answers his questions. But it was against regulations and perfect trooper FN-2187 would never break them. Better to convince himself that he is a cog in the great machine that is First Order and not a human being with wishes and feelings. The time for that would come after First Order ruled over all known and then unknown galaxy.

“Yes, sir! Absolutely, sir. I—”

“Enough talking, let’s move on.” Hux interrupted; passing the thermos to Armitage before returning to the speeder. Jakku made him short-tempered.

Armitage tuned out 2187’s _yessir_. The tea was the right shade of bitter and still quite hot. The sand covered star destroyers were like taunts of an unrealized future in front of him. He swore to himself never to allow the same future to come to pass. 

 

~~

 

The rest of the journey until Lor San Tekka passed quickly. They stopped near the middle of the outpost, in plain sight for everyone to see.

“Guard the speeder. We will return shortly.” Hux ordered to FN-2187 as he got out of the transport. Armitage followed, taking in the tiny spot of life in the desert around him. The inhabitants of the tiny outpost, about twenty beings total, were scattered all around. Some were doing manual labour; preparing rations, cleaning tools. Others leisurely talking and tending to animals. Nothing immediately stood out in this outpost to betray that a Resistance sympathizer and old friend to Leia Organa was living here. Some of the beings took notice of them, but most pretended not to see them; wishing to avoid a scuffle with the First Order probably.

Armitage pointed out Lor San Tekka. The man was just returning to his tent dwelling; his back was turned on them so he did not see his death approaching. They walked over, not in a great hurry, so as not to spook the locals excessively. At least no one yelled a warning or scurry away. 

When they were close enough, Armitage motioned for Hux to go first. They had divided the duties in the morning, still lazing in bed before the actual wake-up alarm. Hux took his blaster out and moved inside the tent.

“Lor San Tekka.” Hux pointed the blaster at the man in greeting, getting right to the point. Armitage was silent at his back, observing Tekka’s non-verbal cues. He doubted the man would ever outright admit to having the map to Luke Skywalker but micro expressions weren’t controllable and betrayed you; not unless you were going at it for a long long time, practicing deception daily. Living with non-verbal navigators in Ren’s throne room for long enough had taught him a lot about body language.

“What do you want?” Tekka almost froze, but made himself stand looser soon after; experienced with negotiations or sticky situations. At least he did not reach for a blaster of his own. 

“Oh, I think there is only one thing of significance that you have in your possession. And I will have it in mine.” Hux took a step closer to the man, making him step back—and turn a bit towards the left. Armitage followed where his eyes traveled, to a little ornate box. It was just sitting on a shelf, gathering dust. It was always the involuntary looks and ticks that betrayed people in their secrets. Threaten an important heirloom or something valuable and people will reach to pat their pockets to reassure themselves that it’s still there; or look over the place the thing is hidden to see that nothing is disturbed.

“I won’t give it to you. There is nothing good you would do with it. I refuse to let the galaxy turn into an even worse place than it already is.”

“I pity you. You live in squalor. And you will die in it.” Armitage spoke before Hux could reply; signaling to him that he knew where the map was hidden. There was no need to let the man talk his way out of this situation.

Hux squeezed the trigger on the blaster, shooting Tekka in the chest; following that shot with another to the head. Armitage turned away—after Peavey he would rather not look at any more corpses too closely. Hux did not seem too squicked about taking a life. But their experiences, even with three months apart were significantly different.

The sound of a blaster most likely attracted the attention from the locals, but he knew that no one would come to investigate while they were still here. Armitage grabbed a blanket from a chair and tossed it over Tekka, so he didn’t have to look at body or the blood seeping into the ground already.

The ornate box was standing where its owner put it last; on a shelf among other trinkets. Armitage opened it and there it was—the data drive containing the map to Luke Skywalker. Finally. This was something Kylo Ren never achieved. All he got for his troubles was a number of scars and a non-corporeal version of the old Jedi Master to lose to.

This time the events would pass differently. 

“If no one goes to Luke Skywalker—the Jedi are not an issue if they are left where they are—Skywalker will stay in exile. He has true power and it would be better that he stays where he is.” Armitage was staring at the data drive, looking small and innocuous on his palm. Such a little thing had far-reaching consequences for the galaxy. 

“Destroy it then.” Hux motioned with the blaster to the ground. Armitage took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. This was a turning point—destroying the map meant no one had a path to Luke Skywalker and no one could pin their _hope_ on the ‘greatest Jedi master in the galaxy’. 

It was time to move forwards.

The data drive fell onto the dust and sand making up the floor of Lor San Tekka’s tent-dwelling. Hux primed the blaster and let it almost touch the plastisteel lump on the ground; Armitage opened his eyes in the same moment as Hux took the shot. Drive shattered and its fragments flew out in every direction. Something clinked at Armitage’s boots making him look down. A piece of plastisteel was lightly smoking next to his toe.

There was nothing left to salvage. He exhaled in relief. This part of the plan was now done and there was no turning back.

“Gather them up, we can scatter them in the desert.”

Hux nodded as he moved towards a low shelf that had cooking implements; leaning against it was a short broom. 

“Without Luke Skywalker, the Resistance will lose a significant part of their hope.” Armitage was still staring at the little data drive fragment at his feet. Pulling one leg up, he stepped on it, trying to bury it deeper in the ground.

Hux, coming back with the broom, snorted at his comment. “They do like their hope, don’t they?” He swept up quickly before gathering the bigger leftover pieces up. 

“And if FN-2187 and the scavenger girl Rey stay here on Jakku, then they will have even less hope. D’Qar is our next target.” Armitage stepped off the piece when Hux prodded him in the ankle. Better not to leave any evidence other than the body for someone to find. Who knew how long until that damn pilot Dameron would show up here.

“We better go, FN-2187 will get lonely without us.”

This time it was Armitage who snorted—FN-2187 indeed would get exceedingly lonely if left in the desert. If he was dead he would not care for loneliness.

They scattered the drive pieces on the way to the landspeeder; where FN-2187 was standing guard. There were even less locals in the outpost now; probably fleeing to avoid getting shot themselves. Little did they know that on this day there were of little interest to the First Order. But it will make them more cautious in the future and grateful that their lives were spared.

If white plastisteel armor could betray emotions Armitage would say that FN-2187 was nervous, maybe even apprehensive. At least his stance wasn't as sure as it was at the beginning of the trip.

“Time to go.” Hux ordered; tossing to the sand final fragment pieces of the data drive. For good measure Armitage stepped on them—following in Hux’s footsteps—to ground them deeper into soil. No one will be able to gather them back up and restore their data unless they sifted this whole region grain by grain.

The way back was quiet; until they stopped at half way. Setting the precedent before mean that FN-2187 did not question this decision and was expecting ration bars to show up. The wrecks of Star Destroyers made up the landscape once more. It was a fitting place to say goodbye to FN-2187.

“Helmet off.” Hux ordered, herding FN-2187 away from the speeder. Armitage quickly stood, getting out of the speeder after Hux, his breathing getting harsher. He pulled his own blaster out—pointing it at the trooper—moving in his direction.

“Off,” he snarled, moving past Hux, instinctively giving him cover in case the trooper decides to retaliate. 

FN-2187 did not hesitate in doing as ordered, his training has been perfect after all; but he had a very confused look on his face, soon turning into a scared one. “Sir? I don’t understand, sir!”

“Nothing to understand. You will no longer be a part of the First Order. Effectively fired from your position.” Armitage tried to control his voice, but being this close to the traitor—someone he could freely blame for everything bad that happened to him—made his voice shake. He gripped the blaster tighter. His nerves were acting up, warning of an oncoming panic attack. He breathed out in anger, this really wasn’t the time to lose it.

“I should shoot you where you stand, you damn traitor.” Armitage snarled, taking another step closer. The trooper was holding on to the helmet, using it as a shield; his weapon at his side, still holstered.

“What? I would never—!” FN-2187 exclaimed before a blaster shot connected with his sidearm, wrenching it to the ground, making him turn sideways in the process.

“Yes you fucking would, you damn thing! Kriffing Finn, I really should shoot you.”

The ‘Finn’ comment made the trooper confused, looking for a moment to the ground, repeating _Finn_ to himself. As if a revelation had just struck him; as if he just discovered something new.

Armitage’s hand was shaking more and more, still pointing at the trooper—Finn. Finn was no longer FN-2187 in his head, no he was that damned traitor, ready to blow up Starkiller base. He did not deserve to draw breath in Armitage’s presence.

He tried, he really did—but he couldn't kill someone again—to see them bleed out and look as life left their eyes. 

He could not do that.

Armitage Hux wasn’t a murderer.

“Leave, go! Don’t look back and never return to First Order ever again.” Armitage lowered his weapon, his hands still shaking; breath thready.

Finn still looked confused, but the fear was gone from his eyes; betrayal had taken its place. But he did take a step back; then another and another before turning his back on them and fleeing.

Hux came closer, softly touching his shoulder; taking the blaster from his hand with the other. “Let us leave.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter warnings:
> 
> minor character death - Lor San Tekka dies,  
> an almost-panic attack for Armitage.
> 
> //
> 
> spoiler: Finn lives!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their return to the Finalizer was uneventful—at least until Kylo Ren barged in on their lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is later than i wanted or expected, but at least its finally here! i sort of got stuck in my own outline, realizing i can't move where i want without this ~interlude~ chapter. i feel like this is waaay out of character, but i hope its still believable. 
> 
> no chapter-specific warnings for this one!
> 
> thank you all kudos'ers and commenters and bookmarkers <3 i'm happy to see actual people liking and reading this fic.

Their return to the Finalizer was uneventful—at least until Kylo Ren barged in on their lunch. 

After the field rations on Jakku, and unending emergency ones after Supremacy—when half their fleet was destroyed with all its supplies—to Armitage this seemed like a feast. As soon as the serving droid left, he took a little something from every available dish, just to overwhelm his own palate. There was even some sweet wine from a planet under First Order rule, usually reserved for celebrations. But what this was if not celebration? 

Step one and two, even three and four were dealt with.

_FN-2187 must not be allowed to defect;_  
the map to Luke Skywalker must be destroyed;  
Lor San Tekka needs to be eliminated;  
the scavenger Rey must be left on Jakku. 

Next steps were to be approached with a lot more caution.

_Resistance’s base on D’Qar must be destroyed;_  
Starkiller must survive after firing;  
Kylo Ren must not become Supreme Leader. 

If the last goal is filled, they should also have a long conversation about Snoke. But as long as Supreme Leader’s goals were the same as First Order’s they could be loyal allies. Nothing should change. D’Qar and Starkiller were the things to think about next. Starkiller will fire, that wasn’t debatable.

Hux was looking over intel about Takodana as they were coming up with a plan to get the Resistance’s location leaked to their own forces. Yes it was extremely backward, but what can you do? Armitage was almost full—the food was filling and warm and almost making him sleepy. After a day spent in the sun, the lunch was one final step before some very creative physical exercises they both could come up with and then, well deserved sleep. Preferably without any unpleasant dreams.

They had finalized a plan about Takodana when the door to his quarters screeched open and Kylo Ren entered. It was clear from the sparks raining on the ground that the man had Forced—pardon the pun—the door open, instead of inputing the access code. Armitage didn’t have to look at Hux to feel his eye-roll; he just let his eyes travel from the dark-clad form of Ren to Hux next to him where he was tapping out a work order to have a droid come and fix the damage.

“What were you doing down on that planet?” Kylo stopped right at the table—coat swishing—before looking from one ginger to the other, and then to the lunch spread, as he was barking his question through the vocoder.

“Having a little trip.” Armitage quipped back, leaning forward to pick up a cup of tea. He wanted to smirk at Kylo, but refrained. So far his meetings with this version of Kylo Ren had ended up with pushing the force user into a wall and drawing blood, then shooting him in the face. He briefly wondered how a third time would go.

The ever present dread he felt in his presence had waned. Armitage tried not to think of a situation where Kylo would corner him somewhere. His primary objective for any future encounters with him was to take control of the situation—being armed also did not go amiss. If there was someone he would gladly shoot, that was him.

“Don’t get smart. You returned a trooper short, why?” Kylo leaned forward, to loom over the table and both of them at the same time.

Hux sighed, “It's a lawless place full of savages. The entire planet should have been done with a long time ago.” The answer was a non-answer, letting Kylo assume what happened instead of telling him. There was no need for him to find out about Finn, or his potential to meet a Force-sensitive scavenger that Kylo became obssessed in a different timeline.

“So—how did your talk with Snoke go?” Armitage asked. Since Supreme Leader hadn’t yet called Hux in for a meeting he could gather that he had better things to do. “Did he tell you off? Not to bother me, or Hux?” This time he could not resist the smirk. Too bad Kylo had his mask on still, it would be nice to see his face. It was probably scowling.

“Supreme Lead has far more important things to do.” It really sounded like Kylo was pouting. 

“Ah. Well then—,” Hux started before Armitage interrupted him with:

“Take the mask off, join us. You can tell me all about it.” Perhaps having a somewhat civilized lunch with Kylo would tamp down the last of Armitage’s nerves that cropped up when in a room with him. He doubted it would work if he got startled or surprised, ambushed; but exposure would help in the long run.

Hux sighed at this turn of events, but did get up to find a third chair. 

Kylo stood frozen, without words for a moment—contemplating the invitation—before lifting his hands to the mask and taking it off. The hair defied the laws of reality, and looked unfairly lovely. Armitage tried not to be envious, but failed. He followed Kylo’s movements after removing the helmet and placing it on the edge of the table; his fingers had tightened on the mask before letting go. He looked awkward, as if unsure what exactly he was doing here. After all Armitage knew very well that Hux had never before invited him to share dinner.

“Sit, eat.” Hux almost-ordered. The third chair made a _tink_ hitting the durasteel flooring of the quarters, startling Kylo into action once more. He sat, looking over what was offered, still with a bit lost expression on his face.

“Wine is good.” Armitage motioned towards the bottle, moving his own empty glass in front of Kylo. “It will make this less awkward, I think.” A snort escaped him, the sound making Kylo look up.

“You tried to shoot me not a day ago and now I am invited to lunch. It would take a lot of wine to make that any less awkward.” Kylo pointed out, pouring himself some; then pulling closer a half-full bowl, and some gravy to add to it.

“I decided to try another approach,” he shrugged. The tarine tea was perfect for this conversation—reminding him of bitter moments in his past-future, but calming him that it was all better now in the present. “I think I gave you enough warning not to fuck with me.” 

“Don’t respond.” Hux pointed at Kylo with a fork. “I’d rather you don’t antagonize each other at my table. I don’t want to replace it, or mop blood from the floor.” He shot a pointed look at the door; two droids were beeping at each other as they fixed it. The corridor outside was empty; command quarters were out of the way of most officers, and the next hall patrol would only see the fixed-up door.

Armitage would later swear he saw contrition pass in Kylo’s face at Hux’s comment.

“I can be civil.” he said, almost pouting. Sleep was still lurking at edges of his consciousness; but Kylo’s presence would not let him rest—or fall asleep at the table which would be worse.

“Hmm.” Kylo didn’t seem convinced. But he would give this a shot. Armitage was still an intriguing new-comer to his daily routine, and having a situation where he could observe him without a blaster pointed at his head was beneficial.

“Does Supreme Leader have any orders for me?” Hux asked.

“Not at the moment.” Kylo shook his head. Aside from Starkiller of course; which was in every officers mind at the moment.

“Then why the long face?” Armitage verbally poked at Kylo, almost smirking into his tea. He did have that sad look perfected; it was both irritating and unfair to be confronted with it. The mask hid it, but it was always better to see what he was thinking of than guessing.

“It’s nothing you would understand.” Kylo took a sip of the wine, before gulping down more; probably to shut himself up.

Armitage tilted his head to the side before asking, “Because it is to do with the Force, and you think if Hux isn’t in obvious awe of it, I must be the same?”

That definitely rendered Kylo speechless.

He smirked, before lapsing into seriousness, “I have respect for the Force and what it can do. So spill, what did Snoke say?” 

After a pause and looking intently at Armitage, Kylo said, in a quiet, almost unsure voice, as if waiting for ridicule or a sour face of not-understanding, “Something is shifting in the Force, an awakening.” 

“A new Force user? But in light or dark?” Armitage asked, letting the tea cup settle on the table; then leaning forwards. Perhaps it wasn’t smart to allude to Rey, but they have already left Jakku behind them; he therefore deemed the conversation safe. 

“How did you—?” Kylo’s brows pulled together, eyes dropping down to his now-empty bowl, then back up at Armitage with interest; even more so than before.

“I did say I respect the Force, didn’t I?” He repeated.

“You did, yes, but I—,” Kylo trailed off, thinking. “You resisted me—before—in the hallway, the first time we met….how did you resist me?”

“I have had.…an experience with the Force.” Armitage replied grimacing, not wanting to elaborate on the attacks and abuse he suffered by Kylo’s own likeness. The past-future should stay where it was, in a different timeline. Unfortunately it wasn’t how trauma worked.

“A bad one.” Kylo said softly, tilting his head, looking at Armitage in new light. A lock of his hair fell into his eyes, making him seem both younger and more sympathetic.

Armitage sighed, “Yeah.” before downing the rest of his cup of tarine tea.

“Time will tell about the Force user.” Not too much time, Kylo was hoping. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘Hux isn’t in obvious awe about the Force’—are you telling me he is in secret awe about the Force?” The corner of Kylo’s mouth ticked up in glee, finally looking at the third table companion.

Hux looked scandalized by them both and definitely speechless. At least he didn’t choke on the wine he drank down; trying to hide his blush behind the glass.

Armitage laughed out loud, “I shouldn’t tease him so, but yes. He does respect the Force, he just won’t admit it to you.” Someone kicked him in the shin, but that didn’t stop him from continuing. “Ever, I think.”

Kylo let his gaze move from one to the other; they did act like brothers would. A notion that the stiff and orderly General Hux could be this relaxed was something he would not believe if he wasn’t seeing it with his own eyes.

~~

Armitage woke once again in warm surrounding him from all sides, and sated; last night after Kylo left soft touches in bed turned into mutual satisfaction. He was still amazed that their lunch-turned-dinner did not end with something slashed by a lightsaber—Kylo was surprisingly pleasant to dine with; the rage he exuded upon entrance had waned as soon as he was invited to sit with them. He contributed to conversation, with wit and commentary that made Armitage once even laugh out loud, startling all three of them. And he kept watching Armitage whenever he could sneak in a look. Which was very very flattering. 

One evening together would not erase the abuse from before, but he hoped that onwards his nerves would not kick up such a fuss whenever he ended up in a room together with Kylo. Undeniably this version of Kylo was different from the other. His sharp edges were there, but he wasn’t completely broken yet. His father still lives. He and Rey haven’t met in a fight. He isn’t lying half dead on the surface of Starkiller. Snoke still lives to give him guidance. The confluence of events that lead to Armitage’s timeline has been altered already.

This Kylo Ren can be made into an ally, he was sure of it. He definitely is interested in Armitage—and that interest could sway the man towards their agenda. Foreknowledge used correctly had more strength than the Force. Luring the man into bed could be a final test to himself; to confirm in his head and heart that this Kylo wasn’t the evil Ren of his past-future timeline. If he was any good with his dick; it would only be a bonus.

The datapad light up on the nightstand, its familiar beep pulling Hux instantly out of sleep.

“We’re approaching Takodana I would guess.” Armitage shifted away from his warm companion to look at the datapad to confirm his guess. They would be dropping out of hyperspace in the next hour. 

“Time to get up I guess.” He said, moving back to lay over Hux. And Hux likewise was staying where he was, starting a slow stretch of his muscles, trying to shift from under Armitage. At such proximity he could not hide the little wince that found its way to his face when moving his legs. Armitage smirked at seeing that and let his hand roam across the gloriously untanned and soft skin in front of him, traveling along his back, side, pelvis and then ass. “Sore, are we?”

“Hmhp, it’s your fault you know.” Hux replied, turning his face away from the pillow, to blink up at Armitage. 

“Yes. But I know you don’t regret it. You would love to work a bridge shift with a plug in wouldn’t you?” Armitage let his hand squeeze an ass-cheek. Little soreness he remembered made his bride-shifts more memorable.

“You do know me too well.” Hux rolled over completely to his front, turning his head to peek up at Armitage almost coyly. The look soon turned heated, “How about a massage to reduce some of that soreness?”

 

~~

_Meanwhile on Jakku_

_Rey had expected to find ship parts and mechanics in the big Star Destroyer wrecks. She did not expect to find a person there—Finn, he said his name is Finn. He looked harmless enough, even a little pathetic on the harsh world of Jakku, so she had taken him to Niima outpost thinking that would be it._

_Unfortunately it wasn’t. Finn was grateful for the rescue, wanting to repay the debt—and was now following her everywhere; expressing his gratitude. It was very admirable, if somewhat unbelievable. People weren’t this nice in her experience. He was definitely hiding something, that was obvious, but she decided to let him tell her about it at his own pace. And he did earn his own half portion at Unkar Plutt’s station. It was nice to share a conversation with someone who hasn’t been living on Jakku too long—seems that Rey now had a new friend, if that was the right word for it._


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to tell someone the exact location where their enemies are hiding, but to do it in a way that doesn’t betray to the same someone you know it because you are from another timeline?
> 
> Easy.
> 
> Fake an information leak. Get a reverse-spy and make them accidentaly-on-purpose namedrop the location to loyal First Order supporters who in turn relay that information to High Command.
> 
> Seems simple enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today was a good writing day, so here's a 3k chapter for you. yes it does end with a sort-of-cliffhanger, and i feel you will yell at me about it lol
> 
> thank you everyone who are cheering this fic along, thank you for every kudos and comment and bookmark <3

_Meanwhile on Jakku_

_It did not take long for Finn to spill the proverbial beans; proverbial for the sole reason that Rey did not know how they looked like, and Jakku wasn’t exactly an agricultural marvel of the galaxy. It only had sand, meager portions of re-hydrated sustenance, more sand and miserable beings trapped in the same sand. It didn’t mean Rey had lost hope for her parents to return: but she was resourceful and capable of surviving here._

_She dreamed about her parents returning, them being finally together. Then eventually joining the Resistance—the pilot helmet she had let her imagine flying with them, laughing with them, and battling evils of this galaxy, be it slavers, cartels or even First Order._

_Because that is where Finn was from, the wretched First Order. It was definitely unheard of that they just let him leave instead of killing him; they had every opportunity to do so, yet they let him go. That was weird, but who could decipher the thoughts of mad men. Finn was also suspicious that their general had a double with him, as the entire Order was avoiding having a clone army, and here was one, with the general himself. Finn did note that the double was unbalanced. In a quieter voice he said that it was the same double who named him._

_Something definitely iffy was going on in the First Order._

 

~~

 

_Meanwhile in Snoke’s throne room_

_There was something was stirring in the Force; getting more and more involved in the dealings of the galaxy. There was trouble brewing, not only in the galaxy, but closer—just in front of him—his apprentice was distracted. The path to Skywalker felt hidden and lacked the clarity it had but a few days ago. The awakening in the Force had masked its disappearance. And now that path felt shattered, unrecoverable. They had missed the chance._

_It was time to focus on the awakening; but it was that very lack of focus that felt like a ruiner, it plagued young Ren. Perhaps inviting the General to gloat over his apprentice, touting his weapon would liven Ren and bring back his attention to situation at hand._

 

~~

 

How to tell someone the exact location where their enemies are hiding, but to do it in a way that doesn’t betray to the same someone you know it because you are from another timeline?

Easy.

Fake an information leak. Get a reverse-spy and make them accidentaly-on-purpose namedrop the location to loyal First Order supporters who in turn relay that information to High Command.

Seems simple enough.

Which is why Armitage was trudging through a forest on Takodana, going towards Maz’s castle of outlaws. He recalled the mission report from troopers bombing it—there was no point in expecting a report from Ren since he skipped on gathering up the droid and instead abducted the girl—from where the Resistance showed up, what terrain and obstacles were there, number of enemy combatants, casualties, and more. 

He was dressed in a disheveled coat; and boots that had been perfectly normal before entering the forest, but now were covered in mud. The beard had the chance to grow even longer and he had not groomed it this morning, keeping it unkept. It was certainly a _look_. His hair was unwashed, smeared with a pomade and now drooping in strands, looking darker than usual. The long walk in the forest would also add to the look: he figured there would be some leaves in the hair as well. 

While Hux was playing the upstanding general on the bridge, Armitage got to play with the rebel sympathizers.

And there were plenty of them from the looks of it. Just from walking into the cantina he felt the disorder around him; outlaws and smugglers working for neither side, or the Resistance, some for both sides becoming the greatest hypocrites. Trying not to snarl at every being here, he trailed over to an empty table not very far from where Bazine Netal was sitting, along with Grummgar. The latter was of no importance at the moment, it was her who was needed for this entire thing to work. It would still take time to receive the report, but then they could be on the way to D’Qar, while simultaneously firing Starkiller at the Hosnian system. 

According to his mission parameters, he is to star asking questions. Instead of providing answers.

“What can I do for you?”

Armitage got startled out from his thoughts by Maz Kanata herself. He wasn’t entirely sure about her species, but knew to be vary of her. 

Loud enough so that surrounding booths can hear him, “Just waiting for a ship to go further.” Armitage hoped it implied more away from _bad things_ instead of away from _here_. “Perhaps something to drink to tide me over?” He shifted around in the seat as if looking for his credit chip.

“It may not be glamorous, but it is safe.” Maz said, touching briefly the sides of her eye-glasses, as if stopping an ingrained movement. Armitage followed her fingers until they let go of the glasses. “You are a nervous fella, aren’t you?” She looked him over, assessing him.

“One could say that yes. I’d rather—” His breath hitched for a moment, making himself focus on those months with Ren, reliving the days of Huxy. If his hunch about Maz Kanata was correct then she would catch glimpses of if; or maybe not specifics but at least his own feelings about everything. “I would rather not go back there.” It was important not to push the issue. Let his supposed running away from bad things, and looking to join the Resistance flow naturally into the conversation.

“I understand. Stay here, I’m sure something will turn up to brighten your day.” Maz reached out to lightly pat his elbow before leaving the table. If he were really defecting he would have to spend some considerable number of days here before earning trust. 

Armitage did not relax; he tried to play up the nervous persona, someone who would rather not be here. It was true that hospitable people were more generous when confronted with someone who wanted to leave unhappy. And Maz Kanata was always hospitable to the downtrodden and outlaws of the galaxy.

Conversation around him came in waves; a little brawl started near the door, but as fast as it came into existence it was shoved out the door. Armitage felt uneasy—not because of where he was or what he was doing—no, it was because he wasn’t with Hux. It was only day five since they came together, and already he was feeling co-dependent. True relaxation probably won’t come until after Starkiller had laid waste to Hosnian Prime, scheduled in seven days time, and definitely after the Resistance had lost all of its hope. Only then.

Soon enough a situation where he could pass further the information about D’Qar presented itself.

Someone, no, make that two someones were getting progressively louder in their argument in the booth behind him. Nearing the end of it they were still loud, but now talking about finishing their argument in their ship. Bazine Netal had stepped out for a moment, soon to return. Timing had to be perfect. Armitage looked over where Maz was talking with someone near the bar area and was only glancing in the direction of the two loud-talkers. He made an obvious abortive gesture, as if he wasn’t clearly listening in on the argument and hearing all kinds of amazing things.

It didn’t take long for Maz to come back to his table after the two left. He shifted nervously to the side to see where his target was and then hunched in on himself. Bazine was coming back to her table, her path taking right by his table. 

“Is it true—D’Qar?” he said the last word loud enough to notice Bazine flicking her eyes towards him, but quiet enough that Maz would not become suspicious. He shifted to the edge of his seat and looked around, before almost-whispering, “Can I go there?” He wasn’t below pleading; reminding himself of all the horrors suffered at Ren’s whim. While play-acting even Armitage himself for a moment believed that he truly wanted to defect.

“Perhaps.” Maz too looked around, to make sure no unwanted ears heard it, “It would turn your anguish into strength.” She was wise, and did give good advice. “And that strength would soon turn into hope. And hope is what holds this galaxy together.” Perhaps not so wise; hope was the thing First Order strived to destroy.

Well. If Armitage wasn’t absolutely sure he belonged with Hux, he might even be inspired by her words. He faked a grateful smile, and burrowed in the seat, sinking into booth’s upholstery, as if making himself comfortable before a long wait.

The plan he arrived here with was done. Now he just had to get out of here.

Few hours later a boarding party was getting together, to go to Naboo—via Eriadu—and Armitage loitered near them. Illenium system wasn’t that far from Naboo, so he could credibly go with them. That last leap he could supposedly manage on his own. It was incredible how easy it was to get there, to be in the midst of his enemies. Barring no one kills him on the way, of course. 

Better not to think about that.

Maz Kanata followed his departure with a considering look. He was confident that his persona was believable; but who knew with Force users. Better not to be slow about leaving.

 

~~

 

General Hux was observing readings from the surface of Takodana. He was also not so subtly keeping an eye on the little dot that was marking Armitage’s location. Less than a week with his, well, double, and he felt emotionally compromised. He understood having sex with his own likeness all too well, but—cuddles in the morning, and that farce of a dinner with Kylo Ren? What had he gotten into? But his heartbeat was noticeably elevated, right from the moment Armitage boarded the shuttle to go playing the reverse-spy mission. And probably will stay that that way until he was back, alive and well. 

Hux didn’t want to admit to it, but he truly enjoyed the moments with Armitage. And comforting him seemed as easy as breathing, where with anyone else he might pat them from afar with a long stick or a mop, perhaps. Clueless about how other people funcioned.

And that dinner was stuck in his head all day. It was hard to say what was more distracting him away from his duties at the moment—was it memories of a civil Kylo Ren using utensils and enjoying gravy or the danger Armitage put himself in by running a con in the den of thieves on Takodana. 

Mitaka had been eyeing him varily almost all morning. He had to send the captain on several errands just to avoid that worried look leveled at him. But it did not take long for Mitaka to return with a summons—Supreme Leader Snoke wanted a meeting.

He took a last long look at where Armitage was on the surface and ordered to be notified as soon as he was moving before leaving the bridge to Mitaka. A much more agreeable Captain than Peavey ever was. The man’s disdain had outweighed his experience; it was no great loss to him. The younger generation of the First Order were the future and not his father’s contemporaries.

The path to the holochamber was very familiar so he could pull together a status update on his datapad; walking and not really looking where he was going. Starkiller was nearing its completion, even with the set-back they experienced; but Armitage’s knowledge let them implement the fix and now it was only a matter of manufacturing. And soon enough they would also have Resistance’s location—he calculated it to take about two to three days—giving Bazine Netal enough time to verify and then the travel time for that information to reach them. It was likely that Supremacy would be the first to hear it and then a High Command meeting gathered to create an attack plan.

Hux looked up at the final turn only to be startled by Kylo Ren walking next to him.

“You are very unobservant when planning to gloat.” The black helmet was back on, its visor trained on Hux. He wanted to stop and compare this Kylo and yesterday's relaxed version, putting them next to one another. Both were the same person, but different in many ways. No wonder Armitage got so relaxed around the mask-less one during that dinner.

The menace apparently had had an even meaner disposition, than this Kylo at his worst. Could he become an ally instead? Hux hoped so. It would aid their plans. But even so, he could not deny that he was easy on the eyes.

“I wasn’t planning to gloat. But I can change up my report if you wish.” he did notice how Kylo responded when Armitage sassed him. Perhaps being more informal would work for him as well in their future discussions. It definitely broke protocol, but so did time-travel.

Something like a snort escaped from the vocoder, “He is truly a bad influence on you.” 

Hux could not stop the smirk from appearing on his face. 

 

~~

 

The holochamber was dark and quiet, as expected. They dropped the conversation thread upon entering, moving swiftly forwards. It did not take long to wait for Snoke to appear. His over-sized holo made Hux feel too small, forcing him to crane his neck back uncomfortably, just to to look at Supreme Leader’s face. He slowly inhaled—focusing on Armitage and what they both were attempting—then exhaled waiting for a prompt from Snoke for him to start his report. He wasn’t dissapointed.

“General.” A little wheeze. “Is the weapon ready?”

“Completion needs a final test run. Manufacturing is working non-stop to meet schedule. No more delays are planned. It will be ready in a matter of days. Estimated firing time: minus seven days.” Hux reported. He could get into details if Snoke wanted, but he suddenly got a hunch that he wouldn’t have to. Kylo next to him wasn’t looking at Snoke, he was staring at something on the left-side wall of the chamber. If Hux had to guess he wasn’t even seeing the wall.

And if he noticed, then Snoke definitely noticed.

“How goes the search for Luke Skywalker?” Snoke was leaning forwards in his seat. Hux made himself look forwards and not at Kylo; hoping for a coherent answer from his co-commander.

Silence.

“It would seem that my apprentice is distracted.” Snoke said, getting more and more angry with every passing second.

“Ren.” Hux whispered. When that did nothing, he showed into Kylo’s side with a finger—well above the wide belt portion of the tunic—trying for his ribs. That did elicit a response.

Kylo twitched before freezing in place; then slowly moving his gaze to Snoke. At least he knew he fucked up.

Hux rolled his eyes, wanting to huff. Distracted was one thing, daydreaming was something else all-together. But doing either in Snoke’s presence seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“I’m sorry Master.” 

“I should punish you myself. But I think letting the General do that would be far more painful to your pride.” Snoke had since leaned back in the seat; the anger had evaporated, leaving a mean look on his face. “General, take your subordinate and put him to use.”

“Yes, sir.” Hux confirmed, observing the shimmering of a dissolving holo. “If I knew you’d listen to me, I would make you repair some of that lightsaber damage you leave behind like a slime-trail.” He was now curious—suspicious as well, but mostly curious—about exactly what was that got Kylo Ren so distracted. Surely not that new potential Force user? Most likely not, since Kylo knew nothing about her; not even that it was a _her_. “What is it that’s taking up all your time?”

Kylo huffed next to him; before fully turning towards him and _looking_ at him, from head to toe. If he didn’t have a mask on, Kylo would probably sport an appreciative look.

“Really?” It was Hux’s turn to snort. “A nicer version of a Hux appears and you get all distracted?” Seriously?

 

~~

 

Kylo was moping. He did not want to call it that, but, he was. Moping. Hux and his lackeys were waiting to hear from spies if the trip to Takodana was successful, so he tried not to get in their way. He spent his time sparring and running combat sims, but it was two days of exhaustion and his head was still full with Armitage.

How was it possible that a clone was so much more intriguing than the original?

He didn’t deny that ever since Armitage showed up, Hux too became more noticeable, and not just an irritant to share command with.

Kylo decided that a walk might clear his head; after a shower and a wank—he could not stop imagining that ginger hair in his hand, that mouth on his cock, it was that smirk that made him come—he almost collapsed, not expecting it; catching himself against the tiled wall.

He was never more glad to occupy a training hall away from everyone. 

The walk didn’t really help. Kylo turned another corner and almost stumbled; he caught a flash of orange ahead so he sped up and sure, there he was, Armitage, going somewhere. Kylo focused on the Force, mapping the hallways in front of him, latching on Armitage’s Force presence. He felt the echoes of something bad happening to him, guessing it was the experience with the Force user he mentioned. If felt—painful—making him twitch in sympathy.

Kylo kept shadowing Armitage; the direction he was moving in meant crew quarters. To Hux’s he guessed. Gamma shift was almost over, but perhaps they were having a late meeting? He slowed down, not wanting to betray his location and that he was stalking after him in the first place; then reached out in the Force, feeling Armitage inputting the door code, then entering the quarters. He felt vibrations of talking before they slowed down, becoming more quiet. Then something—heat? It felt decidedly hot in the Force. Like skin on skin.

Kylo took a breath, not believing what the Force was telling him—did they really? Armitage and Hux? He gulped down, thinking that one shower wank was nothing compared to this.

He didn’t even notice moving forwards, before reaching the keypad and repeating the same code Armitage entered. The door beeped open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehehe yes. it is *that* kind of cliffhanger. i'm not experienced with writing smut scenes, so next chapter will be hard for me. *snort* and for all three of them too lol. i see what i did there


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hmm. Let him watch, maybe even let him participate. But! Only if you truly want it and will agree with this. Otherwise he can stay skulking in the hallway. Alone.” Armitage moved closer to Hux, one knee on the couch, shifting Hux’s legs apart and nesting in between them both. His hands went to Hux’s shoulders, slowly squeezing and just petting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, wow - i did not expect this long gap between chapters, oops. to be fair two weeks were due to a big thing at my work, but the other two? turns out i'm really bad at writing porn i guess. or gearing myself up for writing it. because once i sat down to actually write it took some five hours across the other two weeks lol. 
> 
> should i try doing some nsfw prompts on tumblr?
> 
> a big big thank you to [Vadianna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vadianna/) for reading this over for me ❤️

It was late evening and Armitage was unhurriedly walking towards Hux’s quarters when he felt the familiar intrusion of the Force—it held the taste of Kylo, felt like his whole being had latched on. But it wasn’t in hostility, which calmed his nerves. There was a definite feel of curiosity in the Force, wanting to know where he was going.

Oh, if Kylo was curious, then Armitage would give him a show. He smirked without changing his pace; kept walking, leading Kylo’s Force presence and the man himself to Hux’s quarters as if tied on a string. If things would fall neatly, his impromptu plan could be the final test—to convince his heart once and for all that this Kylo was in no way the evil Ren from the other timeline.

The curiosity in the Force presence was gathering momentum as Armitage reached Hux’s door and was entering the code; slow enough that Kylo could replicate it a few minutes later.

Now to seek out consent from the other party; he would not move forwards with this plan of seduction and lust if Hux didn’t agree with it. In that case they could just go to sleep; leaving Kylo alone and wondering.

“Hux.” Armitage moved through the quarters, leaving his jacket on the couch and leaning over to get rid of his boots. Hux was clad in soft pants and a light shirt, with his robe warming the shoulders.

“Hey—everything alright?” Hux looked up at him, taking eyes off of the datapad he was working on. His mellow look had sharpened when Armitage didn’t join him on the couch immediately as he had done almost every evening they’ve been together.

“I’m good. Kylo is in the hallway, following me, full of curiosity as to what we’re doing meeting so late in your quarters. It is almost the end of gamma shift after all.” Armitage had a full smirk brightening up his face, making it more youthful, even with the beard.

“Curios is he? Well. What was your plan in this?” Hux turned the datapad off, it was clear that he would not manage any more work done this evening. Something far more intriguing was about to happen.

“Hmm. Let him watch, maybe even let him participate. But! Only if you truly want it and will agree with this. Otherwise he can stay skulking in the hallway. Alone.” Armitage moved closer to Hux, one knee on the couch, shifting Hux’s legs apart and nesting in between them both. His hands went to Hux’s shoulders, slowly squeezing and just petting him.

“You are a damn tease, you know that?” Hux sighed, then moved forward, no longer leaning against the couch, meeting Armitage halfway. Placing one hand on Armitage’s cheek, cupping his face. Wanting a kiss. “Fine, yes. We can do this. He did prove himself at dinner, and I might, just _might_!” A bit of a pause, “.. been thinking about him too lately.”

Armitage laughed, moving even closer, granting Hux the kiss he wanted. It soon moved from light pecking to tongue and little nips at the bottom lip, teasing Hux some more. “Any suggestions on how you want this to go?”

“He can join us, yes. But—he doesn’t get to come. If he proves himself, I could get persuaded to grant him his release tomorrow. Just before the meeting.” Now it was Hux’s turn to smirk. After all Kylo did not even attempt to follow Hux’s orders in these two days since the meeting with Snoke. He had to have a punishment meted out, didn’t he?

“Mmm, that is a sight; Kylo Ren with come in his pants, attending an important meeting. My my Hux, what a filthy mind you have.” Armitage said before letting his lips meet with Hux’s once more. He felt that same Force presence, not much closer, probably just outside the door; surprised and astonished, pleased and filled with lust.

Armitage moved his hands along Hux’s shoulders, divesting him of the robe. Just as the door chimed and slid open on to let Kylo in, he moved to pull up Hux’s tunic. The kiss broke, them looking into each others eyes; mischief and lust running between the two of them. Armitage tossed the tunic next to them both, moving forwards to cup Hux’s face in his hands before kissing him once again. Being fully aware of Kylo Ren standing right behind them both.

Letting go of Hux’s bottom lip—it was the perfect shade of kissbitten red—Armitage turned to look at Kylo, “Either join in or get lost. Forever. Those are your only options.” Daring him to refuse, letting him know that this is his only chance, he would not be invited again. He knew Kylo would not refuse, not after Hux gladly explained to him two days ago that Kylo’s distraction was nothing to do with the awakening in the Force and everything to do with Armitage himself.

Kylo doesn’t leave. He is visibly flustered and definitely aroused; those training sweats don’t really leave anything hidden. He dropped to his knees—without prompting from either Armitage of Hux, delighting them both.

Armitage smiled in true joy, letting out a little laugh. Both Hux and Kylo get stuck on how lovely his features turn when thinking about pleasure.

Kylo shifted on his knees, hands twitching forward; wanting to touch and explore the scene before him, just as strongly as he wanted to try and reach for his own cock, stirring in his pants.

“No.” Armitage interrupts him, pointing to his trapped cock. “When you get to come is up to Hux. No sooner. And definitely not before he gets to come.” He runs a hand across Hux’s chest, pinching a nipple. Causing Hux to moan out loud. “Hands off the dick. I’m tempted to bind it, but this is a test for you. Can you follow orders?”

Kylo was nodding even before Armitage finished the sentence. Eager, so eager to participate. “Shirt off. Same with shoes,” he ordered before leaning back to kiss Hux once more, pulling more moans out him; staying balanced between the couch and Hux’s lap. “Come closer.”

When Kylo obeyed, shuffling on his knees— _still on his knees being humble and probably too aroused to stand_ —Armitage reached out to him, bringing the hand closer to his skin; almost but not touching yet. Kylo was breathing heavier; each inhale brought his chest closer to Armitage’s reaching hand. When the two finally touched, Kylo visibly shuddered.

He then let his hand fully press into Kylo’s chest, roaming the hot skin, down the shoulder, across pecs, teasing the well defined muscles, then up until settling on the nipples; first brushing across then squeezing one. Not as sensitive as Hux’s but still he did get a moan out of Kylo—somehow it was more lewd than any sound Hux could ever make. Armitage couldn’t stop himself from repeating the move, just to hear more of that sound. 

He noticed Hux looking at them both, leaning against the back of the couch; biting at his lip, definitely to hold in a moan of his own. To give him a bit of a show, Armitage gathered Kylo a bit closer, left hand on his shoulder to have a grab at his neck; but the other—oh the other—that one was traveling down. Soon touching the waistband on Kylo’s sweatpants, the only thing he still wore. He stopped there, teasing; moving his right hand back and forth then dipping fingers under the elastic. With his left he reached up higher, gathering Kylo’s hair up then pulling his head back out of kissing distance, denying him. The right hand went quickly even lower, grabbing at Kylo’s cock—fully hard, and impressively big, the perfect proportion for the man. “Do you know how to use this?” With a gentle squeeze directing the question to the cock.

“Uhn—yes, yes.” Kylo was straining in his hands; both trying to rub himself on Armitage’s hand and wanting to move forwards to initiate a kiss.

“If you prove yourself,” Hux said from right next to them as he teased towards the light pants he still wore, then inching them down; revealing the bright orange trail leading to some very happy places, “In taking me—” a pause to tease some more, “then you earn a chance to fuck me in return.”

From the way Kylo ground against his right hand, moaning out a _yespleaseplease_ , this was very agreeable. Good. No one was shy in consenting. Armitage pulled his hand out of Kylo’s pants trapping the cock again behind the fabric; then moved off of Hux’s lap settling next to him on the couch, letting the two others have a chance to explore. Appreciating how they looked together to a viewer looking in from the side. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Hux moved quickly pulling Kylo against him, going for a kiss. They ground against each other letting their hands roam, trying to meld together; starting from the mouth going down and down to their chests and bellies and cocks; tangling up.

Armitage meanwhile was slowly divesting himself from clothes. He closed his eyes, just picturing the two bodies together, joined and moving one against the other in rhythm and then faster and faster; seeking pleasure. Oh, they could do so many wicked things together, yes. He bit his lip imagining the reddened skin, the kiss-bruises on neck and across the chest, the sweat and precome making everything slippery and how a cock would leave the hole gaping, having stretched it out after vigorous fucking. Armitage opened his eyes just as he took off his undershirt, only to encounter two very astonished and aroused faces peering at him. The look from them both was definitely heated, full of desire.

He smirked at them, then stood up to get rid of his pants, baring himself to the two hungry people in front of him. The identical looks were flattering in the extreme making him blush all over; it bloomed across his face, then reached his neck and clavicles before going lower. He could swear he heard a moan coming from both Hux and Kylo at this.

“Will you join me?” Armitage stood, looking at them for a moment before sauntering towards the bedroom. He bent over—much further than necessary just to take the lube out of a drawer—and consequently could very well hear the stumbling and skin on skin noises of grabby hands as two sets of feet that were padding towards him. He turned around right on time, the two were close, almost reaching out to him, a longing mirrored in their eyes. Armitage smiled at that, appreciating; then ordered Kylo, “Don’t move.” He passed the lube to Hux, “Give me a second and then prep him.” Armitage was close enough to Kylo to see him again visibly shudder at the orders and swallow another moan.

Hux got on on all fours on the corner of the bed, expecting Kylo to follow him after soon, starting to slowly stroke his cock. 

Armitage took the final step separating him from Kylo, looking him all over once again before leaning over to bite at his neck. No gentle kisses here, he was biting and sucking to mark. All that pristine skin and battle scars would go well with red bruises and suck marks. He let his hands trail towards Kylo’s waistband, once again teasing at it for a moment. Letting go of Kylo’s neck he pulled the sweatpants down in one movement. They pooled on the ground and freed his cock—and what a glorious cock it was. Looked even better than it felt while trapped in the fabric. Full and thick and something he knew Hux would love to enjoy on further occasions. At the moment he very much enjoyed thinking about denying this cock it’s release until next morning. Oh how red and purple it would become wishing for the chance to come. Very enticing. “Look how hard you are. Eager to put the thing to use, getting to enjoy the heat Hux holds within, aren’t you?”

“Aah—yesyes, can I?” Kylo was straining forwards, wanting to put his hands on Armitage, but without explicit orders kept them at his sides. His fists curling and uncurling, fingers twitching in want. An eager look full of desire, moving between Armitage in front of him and Hux on the bed, who was stroking his cock with one hand and running across his chest with the other.

“In time. Yes. But today he will take you. And I him.” Armitage inclined his head towards Hux who had to squeeze at his cock not to come too soon. “Let’s not keep the desperate little slut waiting, hmm?” Armitage stepped back from Kylo motioning for him to finally get on the bed.

Hux kissed Kylo once again when they rearranged themselves among the sheets—Kylo on his back, reclining on the pillows—and Hux straddling him. They looked like sin together. Armitage was tempted to have a droid record this. If it leaked the First Order could go out of war business and start in adult entertainment business and rule the galaxy that way. He bit at his lip, finally moving a hand to his own cock. It was leaking and twitched upon touch. Oh yes, this was a very good idea.

Hux hummed, letting his fingers trace Kylo’s ass, almost teasing. Then let a lubed up finger slip in, then out and again in, trying to loosen the tightness.  
Kylo was grasping at pillows, looking at Hux with hooded eyes, tracking his movements and unabashedly moaning at every touch and the gradual stretching. It looked like all of his attention was on the little movements and facial expressions Hux was showing instead of where Hux himself was looking—where his fingers, one then another, were disappearing into Kylo. The two were very complimentary. 

Two fingers in and Armitage let go of his cock to join them on the bed, pushing Hux even closer to Kylo—making both fingers slide a bit deeper; causing a moan and a full body twitch from Kylo as Hux touched his prostate. “That’s the spot.” Armitage coaxed, grabbing onto Hux’s shoulders then leaning forwards, to peer over him. The view of Kylo in their bedsheets was breathtaking.

This should have been happening a long time ago Armitage decided. A Hux and a Kylo together was a pairing none should pass up.

“Look how good he looks.” Armitage whispered, loud enough for Kylo to overhear, then kissed Hux’s cheek. His eyes were going from where Hux was stretching Kylo, two then three fingers, poking and prodding and massaging softly, praying to be let inside. “Like the best you will ever have. Oh I want to see how he fucks you in return, Hux. It could be your prize on the day Starkiller dissolves the New Republic.” He could see Hux trying to buck forward, his cock grazing Kylo’s thigh, inching closer to Kylo’s cock—wanting to touch. 

Kylo was overwhelmed by the two of them already, setting his eyes on one, then the other and back. The Force was whispering that this was real and about to happen, but the two Huxes kept moving in sync and throwing him off. A touch, a smile, a shifting of head to get rid of a lock of hair. It seemed that they weren’t even clones, but two Huxes. Doubled. 

Armitage bit at Hux’s shoulder, looking over Kylo once again, appreciating how he looked, and what they were about to do. “Kylo.” He didn’t even have to say anything more, Kylo fully focused on him; straining forwards—impaling himself on Hux’s fingers and moaning at the fullness. Armitage had to smile at that, both of them were desperate for this. He figured it would not take long for Kylo to come back to their bed, he and Hux going at it like bunnies. They could desecrate a conference table or two soon enough. 

No, Armitage was not jealous; he knew Hux was his and Kylo desired him too. It was a good feeling to be wanted. At some point he will want to have a moment with Kylo alone too, but that would not be today—it was still a bit too soon to be alone and vulnerable with him. Hux was his buffer and will be for a while yet.

He picked up the lube from where it was fallen; twisted in the sheets. Smeared some on his fingers then trailed a path down Hux’s back with the other hand leaving teasing pinches; closer and closer to his ass. “Let us see, yes—,” the slippery fingers touched at Hux’s hole, “Still a bit loose.” Then one slipped in, probing deeper, making Hux moan aloud. 

Armitage met Kylo’s gaze over Hux’s head, both with identical smirks, enjoying Hux between them, moaning for it. Lost in pleasure, past and present.

One finger soon turned into two; stretching and teasing. With playful kisses to Hux’s neck and up to his ear, tickling. Kylo had moved closer too, exchanging kisses, exploring Hux’s mouth with tongue and biting at Hux’s lip. Armitage added more lube and positioned the third finger at Hux’s entrance just tapping at the stretched muscle promising to soon be inside. He then parted the two fingers already inside and slid the third one in; shallowly moving them in and out. He knew Hux could and would take more, he loved the fullness and being filled to the brim. But at the moment it was enough.

“It is time to make him completely speechless, is it not?” It was unclear who the question was for, Hux or Kylo, for both responded with an enthusiastic _yesYES_ to it. Armitage prodded at Hux’s back with his dry hand, waiting a bit until Hux pulled his fingers from Kylo—making him keen at the empty feeling. 

Armitage shushed him then moving his hand forwards and around taking Hux’s cock in hand, smearing it with more lube and touching the head to Kylo’s hole, “Perfect.” It slid inside inch by inch, swallowed by warmth and pressure and incredible tightness. 

Hux agreed, “So perfect, _nghhhh_.” Hux exhaled when he finally bottomed out; fully sheathed in Kylo. Almost blissed out, feeling Kylo contracting around him, wanting him to move.

Not yet.

Armitage took up the lube bottle after Hux to get his own cock ready—it had leaked more precome into the bedsheets, eager and waiting for the orgasm that would soon hit. He felt like he wouldn’t last as long as he wanted, the anticipation and the picture Hux and Kylo presented together had him on edge. He had to squeeze at the root, to delay his completion. He wanted to come in Hux and have Kylo watch.

When Hux started twitching his hips closer inch by inch to Kylo, wanting to move, Armitage got closer; spreading Hux’s cheeks apart, admiring. Rubbing his cockhead at the awaiting hole, just dipping in and teasing. When Hux let out a whine he kissed his shoulder in apology and then moved forward; pushing in. Overwhelming Hux in the middle of them both. He could not move forwards or backwards. Trapped between him and Kylo. Aroused beyond measure.

Armitage kissed up Hux’s shoulder, eyes closed, just enjoying the closeness and the heat surrounding his cock, moving his lips up and up, and up until reaching Hux’s cheek. He opened his eyes, looking at Kylo, then moved his pelvis further getting closer, making Hux sink into Kylo even more. Taking Hux shoulders in hand, squeezing a bit and pulling them back, showing off how flexible Hux could be. The movements causing Hux to moan out loud, eyes blinking open and closed seeing nothing but the pleasure surrounding all three of them. 

Kylo could not take his eyes off of them both, admiring, his cock twitching wanting to come—but realizing that it won’t happen, not today at least—but, just looking at the two of them, seeing them together like this was enough. He reached out, where Armitage’s left hand was still on Hux’s shoulder, touching where they touched. Trying to join in and be accepted.

Hux is slowly and then all at once getting impatient, moans turning into keens and trying to move where he is so trapped. Kylo smirked at him, showing more restraint, letting his hands run across Hux’s chest, almost petting him. 

It might have started as a plan to tease Kylo, denying him his release, but ultimately it was about Hux and bringing him to a ruin. Armitage welcomed the chance to work with Kylo on achieving this. And he knew that Hux will appreciate their teaming up on him; but probably not until after he’s got to come.

“He is a brat, isn’t he?” Armitage bit at Hux neck then moved his hands to Hux’s hips grabbing tight; starting moving. Long, slow and hard thrusts, traveling through Hux and reaching Kylo too. Setting pace. He was the one in control here. “Aren’t you? Look.” Another hard thrust, angled up, making Hux let out a shout. “Even Kylo is more patient. But you—always chasing pleasure.” He squeezed at Hux hips, hoping to leave bruises, then increasing the pace. His eyes met Kylo’s again, showing a wicked smile. They were here to overwhelm Hux and there was nothing stopping them from achieving that goal.

Hux felt hot and overheated, on the brink almost already. He tried to move, in any direction he could, but it was doomed to fail. He was held close and trapped, a slave to the pleasure. It was perfect. He could feel his cock aching inside Kylo, wanting the constriction Kylo’s orgasm would bring, but he knew it wasn’t coming—not until he himself would order so next morning. His hole felt stretched and full, making him keen, wanting more. His fingers were wanting to rip something in shreds, bruise and make someone bleed, but his body wasn’t cooperating, overwhelmed by Kylo and Armitage surrounding him. He wanted to let go, needed to, needed his mind to give up and leave him floating above it all.

“Let us make him into an incoherent mess shall we?” Armitage spoke to Kylo, getting faster in his thrusts, fucking Hux, then directing Kylo to move too. 

Kylo obliged, moving in a different rhythm than Armitage, not letting Hux settle into one, giving him two inputs, driving his mind into ruin. Kylo then moved his hand where it was petting at Hux’s side to reach his nipple, pinching it. Hux shouted at that, murmuring nonsense that had less words and even less coherence in them.

Armitage reached over Hux, where Kylo’s hand was. Then directing it where the two of them were joined, where he was driving into Hux over and over again; where he was stretched and getting fucked. Promising Kylo he would enjoy this soon too, that Hux would even enjoy having both of them at the same time.

Hux was verging on the precipice—almost, almost, just a little bit more, he needed more—moving one hand to hold onto Kylo, the other back, grabbing onto Armitage’s hair, pulling him closer. All he could feel was pleasure and heat and thrusts going so close to his prostate and then—and then Kylo squeezed all around him, at the same time as Armitage’s thrust hit right on his prostate, making him shout out loud, coming into Kylo, unable to stop, feeling that orgasm whiten everything out and not stop—Armitage still going strong, hammering at his prostate not letting him go—and he came again, almost passing out. Losing ability to hold himself up, slumping onto Kylo, not letting go of Armitage’ s hair, his hole twitching from the prostate orgasm, milking Armitage. The only thing he could do was try and regain his breath, not miss a moment of this, becoming more oversensitive by the second.

“There you go,” Armitage murmured into Hux’s ear as he came, from the looks of it twice. Slowly, oh so slowly he circled his hands around Hux, pulling him into his chest and away from Kylo. Holding close and making him slip out of Kylo. He kept eye contact with Kylo—baring himself, letting him see—just as he himself came, making a low sound, almost the same one Hux made; his eyes fluttering shut, kissing at Hux’s cheek again, then at the hand still tangled in his hair. 

Kylo was trying to slow his breathing, holding onto his cock, stopping himself from coming. He felt Hux’s come in him, hot, dripping out. He had to call upon the Force to calm himself further—just looking at Hux, slack and fucked-out, blissfully leaning onto Armitage as he finished, was almost enough to make him come. This was definitely not the proper use of the Force. 

Hux was insensate, floating blissfully. He knew that out of Armitage’s plans this was so far the best one.

Armitage smirked at Kylo, very very glad that he listened, “Good boy.” He gathered Hux even closer then whispered—loud enough for Kylo to hear, “He’s a good boy, isn’t he? Shall we let him stay the night?” A sleepy but enthusiastic nod from Hux made Armitage smile and kiss him again, turning Hux’s head to reach the lips. Not much coordination from Hux’s side, so he had to take over and direct the kiss. 

They would breathe, clean up and then sleep. And in the morning, oh, in the morning they would continue. Kylo still had to come after all. He had earned it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armitage figured that his immediate future next to Hux and Kylo will be relatively anxiety free—it was hard to say how he would react to being suddenly confronted with the actual Ren from the other timeline, but even if this Kylo got angry, he was confident in himself to not spiral into a dark place. It was, dare he say, hopeful. The Resistance didn’t have claim to the word, he could use it as he wished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who reads and comments and bookmarks and leaves a kudos on this <3 i love you guys!

Their morning started with tangled arms and feet, the bed full and warm. 

Blinking sleep out of his eyes, Armitage stretched, bumping into more warm skin, humming in pleasure. There had been no nightmares this night, which was extremely pleasant, especially considering that he shared a bed with a version of Kylo Ren. He figured that his immediate future next to Hux and Kylo will be relatively anxiety free—it was hard to say how he would react to being suddenly confronted with the actual Ren from the other timeline, but even if this Kylo got angry, Armitage was confident in himself to not spiral into a dark place. It was, dare he say, hopeful. The Resistance didn’t have claim to the word, he could use it as he wished.

“I can hear you thinking,” someone was running a hand through his hair, making Armitage sigh in pleasure, wanting to purr.

Closing his eyes in the soft pleasure, he sighed, “Just considering how far I’ve come.” After that he turned to snuggle closer to the owner of the voice, Hux. A yet another hand soon touched his back, and Armitage was glad that he didn’t flinch at that. Good. “Morning, Kylo.”

“Good morning.” Kylo’s voice was still sleep-slurred, his movements heavy. But oh so warm.

“How long till the meeting?” Armitage started kissing at Hux’s neck right in his reach, then down his clavicle, sucking up yet another bruise there. “Has Kylo earned his reward you think?”

Hux pulled on his hair in a bit of a retaliation, considering his words before leading Armitage’s head lower, to greet his nipples with kisses first thing in the morning. After yesterday they were still a bit sore so Armitage kissing and sucking at them made him gasp. All he could to was to try rubbing his inevitable morning erection on Armitage’s thigh, but their tangled legs didn’t give him the range of movement he needed to do that. Pulling more on Armitage’s hair, Hux moved up sideways, holding himself on an elbow to look at the other side of the bed where Kylo was resting, still running hands up and down Armitage’s spine. “I suppose he has. Kylo, would you like to come?”

The quiet gasp from behind Armitage made him smile and bite a little bit harder at Hux’s nipple. People getting excited by dirty talk he appreciated very much, thank you.

“Yes.” Kylo grunted, his own morning erection poking near Armitage’s ass, twitching and from the little shuffling movements, definitely being denied from full-out humping him. He definitely admired Kylo’s impulses of forbidding himself things.

“Ask for it, nicely. And I’ll let you come just before the meeting. And you will attend the meeting, no skipping.” It was a final higher-up meeting before Starkiller, to go through the day’s plans and activities. Armitage knew Hux was already planning an emergency meeting for when the location of Resistance base will finally reach them, having been leaked by ‘spies’ by then.

“Please, Hux—I need, hmm. Please _general_ , I want to come.” Kylo was leaking precome against Armitage’s ass, not able to completely stop himself from humping into the warm skin. 

“Good boy.” Hux let go of Armitage’s hair, no longer petting it, and reached over him, to touch Kylo’s cheek. “Very good boy.” Armitage could imagine and appreciate how all three of them looked together, even while still buried in Hux’s chest, licking and kissing at it.

Soon they got out of bed to shower, which turned into an adventure by itself. Putting three horny people in a shower, where they got to run hands up and down others bodies, was not the best idea for the purpose of quickly getting ready for the morning. 

Once again Armitage ganged up on Hux with Kylo, wringing an orgasm out him. He had started that by washing Hux’s back, but then not stopping when he had reached his ass, soon slipping in his fingers, commenting how Hux was again a bit loose, prompting Kylo to almost-giggle. Kylo had been diligently washing himself, but when he noticed Armitage touching Hux more deliberately, moved to supposedly soap up Hux’s front. Which ended with Kylo on his knees, sucking Hux in, moaning around his cock. 

Armitage truly enjoyed having someone else who liked wrecking Hux as much as himself. In this Kylo was a very good ally to have. With Kylo continuously sucking on Hux and Armitage fingering him, it took only a few deliberate presses against Hux’s prostate for him to come. After that Kylo and Armitage truly did help Hux wash, propping the very relaxed Hux between them, both lavishing him with gentle kisses.

They smirked at one another after that, then quickly washing themselves. This two-on-one was something they would repeat again and again. Armitage could even envision himself, sometime in the far off future, letting go of the control, leaving himself in Hux’s and Kylo’s mercy. He did have the exact same preferences as Hux, and knew that he would respond to pleasure just as beautifully.

While waiting for a droid to deliver breakfast Hux was scrolling his inbox, deleting some messages, replying to others. Kylo kept staring in the distance; he had turned the shower colder after Armitage got out, so it was probably not the dampened erection bothering him.

Armitage frowned, almost surprised he cared about Kylo’s emotional state, not just about him as a bed partner. Sending the thought away, he asked, mirroring their first dinner together, “Why the long face?” Just for good measure, he reached a foot under the table to poke at him; from the grunt coming from Hux and an incredulous stare directed at him, he had hit the wrong foot. But it did cause the same frown to appear on Hux’s face as well. “Kylo?”

“Hmm? Oh.” Kylo shook his head, startled, looking at them, almost blushing for being caught daydreaming. “Just that. I never thought to share breakfast with _the general Hux_ , not to mention a shower, or what we did last night. I thought you were just a boring uptight officer with a stick up his ass.”

Armitage snorted, “You’ll find that things up Hux’s ass makes him to be very not boring.” This got him a return kick in the shin from Hux, along with a glare. Laughing, he exclaimed, “What? It’s true!” He noticed Kylo looking from one to the other, with almost wonder, admiring, a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth.

“There are enough boring officers aboard, and most do try to appear most boring, but if you dig deep enough, you’ll run away screaming.” Hux said before going back to the datapad, to continue with incoming messages from all over the ship.

Armitage was starting him with his mouth open, so he made himself close it and looked over the table at Kylo, who had a similar look on his face. Sharing a smile, they continued eating. 

 

~~

 

The meeting was to start in less than an hour. So they had still some time to keep their promise to Kylo. He had followed their orders and directions and proved to be a valuable bed partner. It was quietly decided between Hux and Armitage to definitely invite him again into it.

They were in a private little room next to the large meeting hall. Armitage was standing near the viewport, looking outside at the stars and the entire vastness of space, appreciating the technology that allowed them to travel through them. They were still very near to Takodana; waiting for the official confirmation on where the Resistance was keeping itself hidden.

Kylo was standing stock still in the middle of the room, with slowly Hux circling around him, as if assessing his readiness for a prize. “You did good, Kylo.” Hux nodded to himself in confirmation finally stopping, right in front of Kylo, but not reaching out yet. There was still space for compliments to be said. Kylo absolutely had earned them, “I’m really proud of you. And Armitage is too, aren’t you?”

Turning away from the viewport, Armitage leaned his back against it, enjoying the cool transparisteel; the anticipation was heating him up so it was good to cool down in return. Nodding, he smiled, “Yes, most satisfactory.” Looking at them both, he once again marveled at the fact that it did not take very long to get to this configuration of all three of them. They complimented each other in different ways. Armitage could go as far as to say that they were stronger together, but time would tell. He wondered if the evil Ren could ever get to this point or was he too submerged in the dark side. Would he even want to try?

Kylo was looking at Hux, keeping eye contact—almost panting with anticipation of what was to come.

Then finally Hux took a step closer to bring their mouths together for a very filthy looking kiss. Armitage could hear both of them moan at that, could see them clutching at each other, reluctant to part for even a second. Still stuck together with their lips, Hux’s hand traveled down _down_ , moving the tunic and the belt out of the way so he could lower the high-waisted pants, then sneaking lower, slipping a hand down, curling it around Kylo’s cock. Still no underwear, even after Kylo had departed after breakfast to get ready for the day in his own quarters. Naughty boy.

The almost-shout when Hux started stroking his cock made Kylo crane his head back—Hux immediately sucking a bruise in his neck—and start rubbing his cock at Hux’s hand in return, almost humping it, all of his yesterday’s patience or restraint gone. Kylo’s hands circled around Hux’s sides, grabbing at the greatcoat, wrinkling it a bit, then one of his legs shifting up, hooking around Hux’s calves, his hips moving back and forth. 

“Come now, and you’ll get to fuck me before Starkiller’s firing. Just imagine. Moments before I have to step on the stage and you, _ahh_ , plowing into me, coming in me. Would you stick a plug in after that, so that you know, know that every single holo of me reciting that speech means you’ve claimed me; me walking around with your come in my ass.” 

Kylo shouted, his hips stuttering, trying to milk his orgasm to last longer, still rubbing himself on Hux’s hand. “Hux, _oh Hux_.” He was still looking almost blindly at the ceiling, slow blinks, mouth an ‘o’.

“You look very very good together.” Armitage was still contemplating recording their encounters, to be able to watch later them again and again, but knew very well that a holo is not the same as the real thing; and they might end up on a public network for everyone to see. 

“Time for the meeting.” Hux said, finally taking a step back from Kylo’s embrace; stabilizing him with one hand, then helping with his belt. “Will you join us for dinner this evening?” Placing both hands on Kylo’s waist Hux leaned in for a parting kiss. 

With a still-hoarse breath from the orgasm and Hux’s words about desecrating Starkiller’s speech running through his head, Kylo could only rasp out, “Sure.”

 

~~

 

Kylo found out that the Resistance base was on D’Qar in the five minute break that split the meeting in half.

Half the hall had cleared out for a quick breather, some sending messages or getting caf. Kylo had smirked at them all fleeing from his presence. Wanting to enjoy the relative quiet, with less officers present, Kylo approached where Hux and Armitage were discussing something over blueprints printed on an excessive amount of flimsi. He opened his mouth to say something while skimming through Hux’s mind for more lurid fantasies that could be hiding in the general’s mind.

Instead of finding naughty imaginings he saw planetary information about D’Qar, the Ileenium system, which Hux had reviewed earlier this week and apparently erased from the logs, as well as conversation fragment from Armitage,

_‘.. should not get to meet. The Resistance is in D’Qar system right now. Ren claimed that is was Rey who killed Snoke, but I seriously doubt that. As soon as Hosnian System was ..’_

Before Kylo could get anything more, Armitage had stepped in between the two of them, realizing what happened seeing Hux squeeze his eyes shut in pain then rub at his forehead, and was once again pointing his blaster at Kylo, with a very angry— _betrayed, upset_ —look, starting to snarl. Hux shook his head, wincing at the sudden headache, then grabbed Armitage’s shoulder, just holding on, not looking at Kylo.

Ignoring the unknown Rey in that sentence and the fact that she had killed Supreme Leader Snoke, leaving it all to parse out later, he was left with the information that Armitage, and consequently Hux knew exactly where the Resistance were located already. And didn’t tell anything to anyone.

“D’Qar. So what was the whole spy mission farce on Takodana?” Kylo wanted to slash every surface in the conference hall to smithereens, to make them smoke and burn up from his lightsaber. He tried not to think about attacking Hux or Armitage because of this, but even the image repulsed him; no. Betrayal and lies stung at him. “If you won’t do anything, then I will.” He might lash out at them if he looses control; better to stay away until he cooled down. 

There was time for decisive action. No more hiding in the shadows. He had a chance to destroy the Resistance, all the personnel and ships that have relentlessly stolen from their convoys, to kill everyone starting from the mechanics up till the Resistance general herself— _could you really do it? Are you sure, she’s your mother_ —he can! And he will.

Turning on his heel, leaving Armitage and Hux behind him, Kylo marched out of the room, making people scatter from the entrance. Officers in the hallways about-faced seeing him clenching the fists, the mask and the cowl menacing everyone on the way; the dark side crackling around him, pushing the weakest minds down, to fall on the ground, to forget when they set out to do today. 

He heard voices shouting at him from behind, imagined Hux and Armitage scrambling one over the other to keep up with his stride. 

Entering the bridge, he ordered to turn the ship around and to head to the Ileenium system. “Our target is D’Qar. The Resistance has been found.” For good measure, he slammed the blast doors closed. It would not keep Hux or Armitage out for too long, but enough to get in hyperspace. He was this close to loosing control. The objects of his ire were on the other side of that door, wanting to get in. It would not end well for anyone.

 

~~

 

_Meanwhile on Jakku_

Han Solo had tracked his Millenium Falcon to the dust ball Jakku. It’s sand did make him think of Tatooine and old times, but better to leave those where they belonged—in the past. His current cargo was dangerous enough already and it was high time to unload it. 

Landing was quick, just as he expected, finding the Falcon as well, but the getaway? Now that got complicated.

Unkar Plutt was dead and now he was saddled with two passengers that got blamed for it. Unarmed passengers, not likely to be able to shoot anyone, two skittish kids really. 

Trying to calm them down he had to open his big damn mouth, didn’t he?

“You’re Han Solo! This is the Millenium Falcon!” The girl “i’m a pilot!” Rey exclaimed.

The boy “so glad we’re leavin Jakku” Finn wasn’t far away with his recognition skils, “The Rebellion general!” He did have a very contemplative look on his face, he did. Han recalled seeing that same determination to do good and right on Luke’s face way too many times to know he won’t like what was about to happen next. 

_Oh damn._

Unwilling to deal with young hope and aspirations on his own (Chewie didn’t count) Han turned the ship towards Takodana. He was sure that Maz Kanata would know where to look for the Resistance if these two were so ready to join up.

Good thing too, because they almost got intercepted by a ship that looked a lot like Bala Tik’s. And where was Bala Tik, Tasu Leech was never far away. Better to avoid both of them today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end is a cliffhanger, i know and i’m aware i’m evil. but there’s part 2 so all is good haha i hope you like that one as well!


End file.
